In a move that sent shockwaves around the sports world, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a three-team deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks late Saturday night.
The Mavericks acquired the draft rights to Doncic in 2018 after the Atlanta Hawks selected him at No. 3. In return, Atlanta received Trae Young, whom Dallas selected at No. 5. Doncic was seen as the franchise's next cornerstone as Dirk Nowitzki retired in 2019.
The Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals in 2021 then the NBA Finals last season with Doncic at the helm. Last offseason, Klay Thompson joined Doncic and guard Kyrie Irving in Dallas to bolster the team's championship hopes.
Dallas initiated the trade talks with the Lakers and were motivated to move Doncic because of his constant conditioning concerns, sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. The deal left Lakers star LeBron James surprised. Doncic and Davis were also not informed of the trade ahead of time, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
The unexpected nature of the trade follows a rare, yet memorable trend in the league -- blockbuster trades seemingly coming out of nowhere, when players hadn't requested to be dealt.
Here's a look back at some of the more shocking trades in the NBA since 2000.
Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers, 2021
Teams involved: Lakers, Washington Wizards
Key players dealt: Westbrook to Lakers; Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Wizards.
In a 2021 offseason deal, the Wizards sent Westbrook to the Lakers for Harrell, Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and the 22nd pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Los Angeles also received two second-round picks from Washington.
The trade teamed up Westbrook with James and Davis. Westbrook was coming off a season in which he averaged a triple-double and helped the Wizards make the playoffs. Unlike his move to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul two years earlier, Westbrook hadn't worked with Washington for a deal to a preferred destination. But the idea of returning to his Los Angeles roots was appealing to the SoCal native.
Paul George to LA Clippers, 2019
Teams involved: LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder
Key players dealt: George to Clippers; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Galinari to Thunder.
George being traded to the Clippers is a move that will live on in NBA history as one of the league's wildest deals. Fearing the potential of a dynasty if the Lakers signed Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers acquired George in an "11th-hour move," clearing the path to sign Leonard themselves.
All it took was four future unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps to the Thunder.
Leonard told the Clippers' brass if they acquired George, he would sign with them. George's agent approached Oklahoma City in the days before the move and asked for a trade. Just a year before the trade, George agreed to a four-year, $137 million max contract with the Thunder.
After a busy Friday night, the news broke at roughly 2 a.m. ET. On the same night an earthquake postponed the NBA summer league in Las Vegas, the Clippers shook the league.
Kawhi Leonard to Raptors, 2018
Teams involved: Raptors, San Antonio Spurs
Key players dealt: Leonard, Danny Green to Raptors; DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl to Spurs
Leonard and his team made it clear to the Spurs that he wanted to play in Los Angeles, preferably for the Lakers, during the 2018 offseason. Instead, San Antonio sent him to Toronto in a shocking deal.
Not only was the location surprising, but the names involved were as well, specifically DeRozan. The move caught him by surprise. He posted on his Instagram story after the trade: "Be told one thing & the outcome another. Can't trust em. Ain't no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing... Soon you'll understand... Don't disturb..."
DeRozan had spent his career in Toronto to that point with three years left on a deal. Leonard had one year left on his contract but continued to indicate his desire to sign with the Lakers, posing a risk for the Raptors' decision to acquire him.
Blake Griffin to Detroit Pistons, 2018
Teams involved: Pistons, Clippers
Key players dealt: Griffin to Pistons; Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley to Clippers
Griffin was a staple of the "Lob City" Clippers, but the team dealt him to the Pistons in January 2018, marking a shocking turn of events.
Months before the trade, the franchise put together a presentation with the primary theme of Griffin as a "Clipper for life" in its attempt to re-sign him. Griffin and the Clippers did end up reaching an agreement on a five-year, $171 million deal in July 2017. But he didn't make it through the first season of that contract.
It led to an icy moment during Griffin's first road game against his former team. Griffin ignored Clippers owner Steve Ballmer's handshake pregame, opting to run into the locker room after finishing his warmup. Griffin downplayed the moment, explaining that it wasn't anything planned.
Pau Gasol to Lakers, 2008
Teams involved: Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies
Key players dealt: Pau Gasol to Lakers; Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton to Grizzlies
Seventeen years to the day before acquiring Doncic, the Lakers surprised the league by trading for Pau Gasol. It occurred three weeks before the trade deadline and upset a rival head coach -- San Antonio's Gregg Popovich.
He called the deal "beyond comprehension" and recommended that a trade committee be established that can "scratch all trades that make no sense."
"I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades," he added. "I'd like to elect myself to that committee. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade."
Of course, no such committee was created, and the deal went through in a wild in-season shakeup.
Ray Allen to Milwaukee Bucks, 2003
Teams involved: Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics
Key names involved: Allen to Bucks; Gary Payton to SuperSonics.
In 2003, the Bucks dealt Allen to Seattle for Payton at the trade deadline.
The move not only ended Payton's 12-plus season tenure with the SuperSonics but reunited him with former head coach George Karl. Allen averaged a team-high 21.3 points at the time of the trade, adding to the surprise of the deal.