![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2214940026-e1749065506228.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
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After the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, nothing in the NBA can be counted out.<\/p>\n
That was a historically bad trade for many reasons, and many other teams would never make the same mistake, but trades happen.<\/p>\n
For a Mavericks team that\u2019s in a position to win, there could be a scenario where making a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers and others, with the top overall pick, makes sense.<\/p>\n
In a recent trade idea from ESPN, that\u2019s exactly what would happen. The trade idea would involve four teams, with\u00a0Donovan Mitchell\u00a0going to the Mavericks, the Lakers getting\u00a0Jarrett Allen,\u00a0and the\u00a0Cleveland Cavaliers\u00a0getting the first overall pick.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo quote Batman and George Costanza, \u2018You want to get nuts,\u201d\u00a0ESPN wrote. \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get nuts. Would the Cavaliers actually break up a team that posted the NBA\u2019s second-best record (64-18) in pursuit of (Cooper) Flagg? Surely not, but if Cleveland believed that the loss to the Indiana Pacers exposed fatal flaws and if the Cavaliers felt recentering the roster around 23-year-old Evan Mobley was the right response, this move could help everyone involved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers get their long-desired rim-running center in (Jarrett) Allen, undoubtedly the best big man available to them in terms of current value. Getting Allen costs them not only the pick, swap, and (Dalton) Knecht (what they tried to send the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams), but also a second swap. If the Lakers can build around Allen and (Luka) Doncic like they hope, that swap shouldn\u2019t convey anyway.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n This would be a blockbuster trade of all blockbuster trades, but something the Los Angeles Lakers would love to happen. The Lakers are looking for a center, and Allen would be perfect in that pursuit.<\/p>\n Allen, one of the better shot blockers in the NBA and a force underneath the basket, helped the Cavaliers to one of the best defenses in the NBA, and would essentially be exactly what they need as a defender.<\/p>\n If the Los Angeles Lakers want this to happen, they need the Dallas Mavericks to want to trade the first overall pick.<\/p>\n Sure, Mitchell would be a great get for the Mavericks, and the picks would be enticing, but there\u2019s no reason to give up on a potential generational player like\u00a0Cooper Flagg, if that\u2019s who they decide to take.<\/p>\n And according to Tim McMahon of ESPN, the Mavericks have no plans to trade the first overall pick. Dallas views this pick as a potential game changer for them, adding that it\u2019s viewed as a gift around the organization.<\/p>\n \u201cSources told ESPN that Patrick Dumont, who just finished his first year as the Mavs\u2019 governor, considers the opportunity to be in position to draft a generational talent such as Flagg a \u2018gift.\u2019 While Dumont has given (GM Nico) Harrison great leeway to run basketball operations, the governor has final decision on all personnel matters,\u201d\u00a0McMahon said, per NBC.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the Lakers won\u2019t be able to trade for Allen, but they\u2019ll have to get creative in a deal. If it happens, there\u2019s a chance it could happen on draft night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, nothing in the NBA can be counted out. That was a historically bad trade for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nLakers Get Their Big Man<\/h2>\n
Is This Trade Feasible?<\/h2>\n