How will the trade of Luka Doncic affect the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics? One of the oldest and arguably best not only in the NBA but all of professional sports, the Celtics have recently had the upper hand in terms of total titles won after finally hanging Banner 18 in the 2024 NBA Finals last year.

Doncic, who had dragged an otherwise unremarkable Mavericks team through the Western Conference, became the face of their failure. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was forced to come out and defend his maligned star, even though without Doncic, the Mavericks were a faded Kyrie Irving and a bunch of role players.

New Mavericks CEO Rick Welts has publicly discussed the Luka Dončić trade that sent him from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers. In an interview with Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, he addressed how he "probably underestimated the reaction" the fans had to the recent Dončić trade.