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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 31: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers makes a slam dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

The LA Lakers were the biggest beneficiaries of the Dallas Mavericks’ insane decision to trade Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in February 2025. On Tuesday, the team decided to finally have a clean slate moving forward from the infamous trade by firing Doncic’s former head coach, Jason Kidd, who reportedly supported the Doncic trade. 

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania on The Pat McAfee Show, the Mavericks have a full alignment as an organization, including head coach Jason Kidd, when former general manager Nico Harrison pulled off the Doncic trade to the Lakers in 2025. 

“In the last seven months, you traded Anthony Davis, you fired Nico Harrison, and now you fire Jason Kidd…You think about [them as] the residue from the trade of Luka Doncic,” Shams said. 

“How evolved was Jason Kidd? He wasn’t making the trade. Mavericks believed he had a level of support in that trade…It’s a clean slate for the [Mavericks] organization.”

The trade caused the Mavericks to fall out of the playoff race over the past two seasons, while the Lakers have finished in the top five of the Western Conference over the past two seasons with the pairing of Doncic and LeBron James. 

Now, the Mavericks are looking to start over anew on the backs of Cooper Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year and last year’s top overall pick. 

Luka Doncic Meets With Lakers Executives Before Going Back to Slovenia

GettyJason Kidd was reportedly in favor of the Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers

Despite not playing in this year’s NBA playoffs, Luka Doncic will remain at the forefront of the Lakers’ plans in the future. 

Before going back home to Slovenia after the NBA playoffs, Doncic met with Lakers executives to discuss his plans and the team’s vision for the offseason, as reported by Martin Pavcnik of SportKlub.

“Dončić, who is also the NBA’s top scorer and a candidate for the All-Star Game, returns to his hometown of Ljubljana on Sunday,” Pavcnik said on his report. “Before that, he met with representatives of the club’s management and those responsible for the sports department of the LA Lakers in Los Angeles.”

“While discussing the summer personnel moves of the club, which is facing some major challenges, the plan for Luka’s summer activities was also part of the conversation,” he added.

The Lakers are expected to be aggressive in the offseason as they look to build around Doncic for the next season. 

The team is also expected to continue to be with Austin Reaves, while LeBron James’ future with the team remained uncertain. 

For now, the Lakers want Doncic to stay 100%. 

“His employers want him to return to the USA in the fall completely healthy and well-prepared for his ninth season in the strongest league in the world,” Pavcnik wrote.

Lakers Must Deal With Many Free Agents in the Offseason

The Lakers will be dealing with numerous free agents in the offseason, including some of their starters. 

Marcus Smart, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton will be free agents in the offseason, putting the Lakers in a tricky position to build their roster for next season. 

The pressure is on the Lakers to build a competitive team around Doncic as soon as possible, considering the Western Conference’s highly competitive landscape.