Jazz (small) part of shocking Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade
by Ryan Miller, KSL.com · KSL.comEstimated read time: 2-3 minutes
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Utah Jazz acquired Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.
- Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.
- The Jazz facilitated the trade by taking on salary and sending cash.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz has acquired guard Jalen Hood-Schifino from the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the all-time NBA footnotes.
The rest of the deal? Oh, just the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic (yes, that Luka Doncic) to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Yeah, you read that right: Luka is now a member of the Lakers.
The Jazz helped facilitate one of the most shocking trades in NBA history. Dallas also traded Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick in the deal.
So how is Utah involved?
The Jazz will take on salary to help make the deal work, getting Hood-Schifino (the Lakers' 2023 first-round pick) as well as two 2025 second-round picks — one from the Los Angeles Clippers and one from the Mavericks.
Utah will likely waive Mo Bamba, who they acquired earlier on Saturday in a separate deal, to make room for Hood-Schifino. The Jazz will be sending a small amount of cash to both the Lakers and the Mavs as part of the deal, per a league source.
So the Jazz essentially got a point guard prospect and two second-round picks for a little more than $100,000.
Hood-Schifino has seen very limited time in the NBA — only playing in 123 minutes total — since he was taken with the 17th pick in 2023. The Indiana product has shot just 23% in those minutes but may find a bigger opportunity with the Jazz. He was considered one of the better pick-and-roll players in his class coming out of college.
Again, though, that is an all-time footnote to one of the craziest trades the NBA has seen. The Lakers and Mavericks have swapped All-Stars, and Dallas moved the face of its franchise (and the league?) a month before he turns 26 years old.
The reasoning?
"I believe that defense wins championships," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN. "I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We're built to win now and in the future."
Did anyone remind him that Doncic led the Mavs to the Finals as recently as last June?
In any case, the Lakers should also be set up for the future. Doncic will team up with LeBron James to form a new superstar tandem, and Los Angeles has a new star to build around for years to come.
As for Utah's 2027 first-round pick from the Lakers? That suddenly appears much less valuable.
This story will be updated ... if my brain stops exploding.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Ryan Miller
KSL.com Utah Jazz reporter