Ever since the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis on February 1, things in Mavsland have not been the same.

While landing the No. 1 pick and winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes has helped erase some of the heartbreak from fans that came along with trading Doncic, not all of it has gone away, and it isn’t going to anytime soon, regardless of how well Flagg plays in his rookie season.

With Flagg coming into the mix, Dallas could be forced to trade one of their fan-favorite frontcourt players before the season even begins, with Daniel Gafford being a prime candidate to be shipped away.

Gafford was in some trade rumors this past season, and with the overwhelming amount of frontcourt depth with Flagg on the team, Gafford could be the odd man out.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus recently predicted that the Lakers will pursue a trade for Gafford this offseason, and considering how badly they need big man depth, Gafford would be a great option.

Doncic and Gafford built a special bond as teammates in Dallas, as they connected for countless alley-oop slams and were members of the starting five together throughout their 2024 run to the NBA Finals.

Daniel Gafford predicted to rejoin Luka Doncic in Los Angeles

They were even so close that Gafford is considering playing for Team Slovenia with Doncic one day, and their immediate chemistry was a thing of beauty. From the moment Gafford stepped onto the floor in his first game as a Maverick, it was clear that he and Doncic were going to be hard to stop when they are clicking.

Now, with Doncic being without an elite rim-rolling big in Los Angeles, Rob Pelinka may want to call Nico Harrison to see if he’d be willing to part with Gafford.

He is due an extension this summer, and if Harrison doesn’t plan on extending him, Los Angeles may be the perfect spot for him to take the next step in his career.

Gafford has seemed like a realistic option for the Lakers for weeks when it comes to the trade market, but Harrison making another trade with the team that he traded Doncic to could end up with overwhelmingly large amounts of backlash once again.

Harrison didn’t hear the end of the Doncic trade for months, as he heard “fire Nico” chants at nearly every home game following the trade, with the most wild part about this saga being the cheers for Doncic and the Lakers being louder than those for the Mavs during Doncic’s homecoming game.

Mavericks fans wanted to see a player on an opposing team succeed more than the home team in Doncic’s 45-point slaughter of the Mavs in his return to the American Airlines Center, as fans felt like they had their franchise player stolen from them in broad daylight.

While Gafford is nowhere close to being the worldwide sensation that Doncic was, he has still built a connection with Mavs fans since he arrived, and him being shipped to Los Angeles to play with Doncic again would be a bold bet by Harrison and the front office.

Regardless of the return package that the Mavs would receive from the Lakers in a potential Gafford trade, fans’ minds would immediately race back to the Doncic trade, which is not a great place.

The Doncic trade will likely always be remembered for the hurt that came along with it, even if the Mavs win with Kyrie Irving, Davis, and Flagg leading the way, and the potential Gafford trade could lead to more of the same.

On top of the recent history between the Mavericks and Lakers, Gafford has become a fan favorite over the last year or so due to his endless energy, thunderous slams, and rim protection, and fans having to see another fan-favorite player be traded to Los Angeles would be a tough pill to swallow, even if it’s the right move.

The Mavericks’ stance on Gafford’s future with the team will likely become more clear after drafting Flagg, and we’ll have you covered with all the latest.