Mavericks' Return for Luka Doncic Looks Even Worse After Lakers Latest Trade
Mavericks' Return for Luka Doncic Looks Even Worse After Lakers Latest Trade
As if the Luka Doncic trade couldn't look any worse for the Mavericks. Austin Veazey|
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Dallas MavericksWhen the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February of 2025, it was almost universally seen as the worst trade in NBA history.
It has somehow gotten worse since.
For those who need a refresher, the Mavericks sent out Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick.
One year later, the Mavericks essentially salary-dumped Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards, along with Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum, for Khris Middleton, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, and five total draft picks, including the 30th and 48th picks in this year's draft, as well as future second-rounders.
Middleton, Jones, and Bagley were all expiring contracts, which gave the Mavs a lot of financial flexibility this offseason. They still didn't have a lot to show for trading a top-5 player in the NBA, though.
Tuesday evening marked the start of NBA free agency, and the Lakers just paid a hefty price for a free agent in a sign-and-trade. The price they paid only makes the Mavericks' return for Doncic look worse.
Los Angeles Lakers Massively Overpay for Walker Kessler
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Lakers had acquired Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade, agreeing to send the Jazz unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, as well as pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
On top of that, they handed Kessler a four-year, $130 million contract. Kessler only played in five games last year due to injury, and wouldn't have qualified for the 65-game requirement for awards in any of the last three seasons.
That's a lot of money to hand over for someone who really hasn't been available recently, and even more assets to give up. That's the difference between a good executive (Danny Ainge) and a terrible one (Nico Harrison).
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, sources tell ESPN. Kessler will sign a massive four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/rt8b17fEQZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026
Nico Harrison should've had all of the leverage in that negotiation with Rob Pelinka, but he was only able to extract one first-round pick out of Luka Doncic. Even if you include the first-round picks received from the Anthony Davis trade, that's only the 30th pick from this year's draft, and a top-20 protected pick from the Warriors in 2030. That's more than likely to become a second-round pick.
There's no reason the Mavericks shouldn't have been able to pull all first-round picks and swaps from the Lakers when they sent out Luka Doncic.
Maybe he returns to Dallas in 2028 and doesn't matter (and by the looks of this current Lakers roster, he may want to get out of there), but it still looks disastrous.
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Published 7 minutes ago
AUSTIN VEAZEYAustin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG
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New on Pluto TV in July 2026 — The Full List of Free Movies and TV Shows
Like Tubi, Pluto TV is one of streaming’s best deals. It offers tons of new content each month, all for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. Now that’s a deal I’ll gladly accept.
The ad-supported platform has outdone itself in July, offering an array of classic movies and shows as well as live events, from sports ot Grand Ole Opry concerts.
Watch With Us recommends you check out fan-favorite movies like Clueless with Alicia Silverstone and Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks. If you’re a Big Brother fan, you must tune into Big Brother Live, which has dedicated channels showing pretty much everything that happens inside the Big Brother house.
Editor’s note: All the movies listed below are now available to stream unless otherwise noted.
Action and Adventure
Three Kings
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
XXX
Tango & Cash
Parker (2013)
Tears Of The Sun
Top Gun
Driven
Vantage Point
The Commuter
The Expendables 2
The Expendables 3
The Expendables 4
The Expendables
Danger Close
Sabotage (2014)
Colombiana
Cinco De Mayo: La Batalla (2013)
Civil War
Platoon
Walking Tall (2004)
Contract To Kill
Everly
Forces Speciales (2011)
The Last Man (2019)
Muay Thai Fighter
Salvable
The Stranger (2010)
Stratton
The White Storm
Free Fire
A Prayer Before Dawn
Walking Tall: The Payback
Hercules (2014)
Navy Seals
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The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix
Gravity
After Earth
Hollow Man
Big Fish
Flatliners (1990)
Johnny Mnemonic
Moon
The Time Machine
Light Of My Life
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts
Ex Machina
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Warchief
Area 51
Judgment Day
Escape From New York
Survival Code
Timeline
High Life
Under The Skin
The Green Knight
Stargate (1994)
America 3000
Drama
The Right Stuff
Awakenings
The Fisher King
The People Vs. Larry Flynt
Drumline
Do The Right Thing
Amistad
The Cider House Rules
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
The Four Feathers (2002)
The Queen
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
The Virgin Suicides
Dead Again
Frida
Nico, 1988
Margot At The Wedding
My Life So Far
Nebraska
O (Othello)
American Dreamer
Filly Brown
Lady Macbeth (2016)
Moonlight
20th Century Women
Weightless
Jayne Mansfield’s Car
Philomena
Submarine
This Must Be The Place
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (2019)
American Honey
Mississippi Grind
The End Of The Tour
The Last Black Man In San Francisco
The Last Movie Star
The Sea Of Trees
Not Without My Daughter
A Good Person
All These Small Moments
Evelyn
Fool For Love
Jinn (2018)
Maine
On The Count Of Three
A Few Good Men
Crime and Thrillers
Angels & Demons
Collateral
Zodiac
Inferno (2016)
Money Train
The Net (1995)
Premonition (2007)
Snatch (2000)
Trapped (2002)
Wild Things
Black Rain
Ride
The Night Listener
Girls In Prison
Nightcrawler
The Substitute 2: Schools Out (1998)
Affairs Of State
Beast
The Bedroom Window
Burn
Confidence
Escape From Pretoria
Every Secret Thing
Knock Knock (2015)
Love Lies Bleeding
Thelma & Louise
Like Minds
Manhattan Night
Stone
The Super (2018)
Tenderness
Skiptrace
Blaze You Out
Blood Out
Catch Hell
Free Ride (2013)
Legendary Assassin
Lucky Number Slevin
The Pursuit Of D.B. Cooper
Senorita Justice
The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All
The Substitute (1996)
Thief Of Hearts
Enemy
Remember
The Bling Ring
Dark Places
Cut Bank
Hot Summer Nights
Low Tide
Zola
Mojave
The Eternal Daughter
The Adderall Diaries
Under Fire (1983)
Cop
Dangerous Game (1993)
Romance and Musicals
Clueless
Sleepless In Seattle
Steel Magnolias (1989)
You’ve Got Mail
Across The Universe
Breakin’ All The Rules
First Knight
Marie Antoinette
The Sweetest Thing
While You Were Sleeping
Adore
The Back-Up Plan
Bride & Prejudice
The Fighting Temptations
Kate & Leopold
Sidewalks Of New York
Southside With You
Flashdance
Hear My Song
Last Night
My Boss’s Daughter
Playing By Heart
Sirens
50 First Dates
Maid In Manhattan
Bella
La Boda De Valentina
In The Mix
Jackie & Ryan
The Sun Is Also A Star
My Days Of Mercy
Dr. T And The Women
Stage Mother
A Ghost Story
The Souvenir
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Peacock is having a quiet month in July compared to other streamers like Netflix and HBO Max, but that doesn’t mean it’s not offering must-see content. Watch With Us has been a huge fan of Jennifer Garner since Time of Your Life (remember that Party of Five spinoff?), and we’re pumped for her newest streaming […]Comedy
Friday
The Friday After Next
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National Lampoon’s European Vacation
National Lampoon’s Vacation
Kingpin
Code Name: The Cleaner
Adaptation
Real Genius
Ashby
Crocodile Dundee
The Foot Fist Way
Gambit
I Got The Hook-Up
A Night At The Roxbury
The Weather Man
Crocodile Dundee II
Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Dysfunktional Family
Like A Boss
Mother (1996)
Superstar
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Barbershop (2002)
Barbershop 2: Back In Business
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Beauty Shop
All Of Me
Best Of Times
Dummy
Highway
What’s Cooking
Never Goin’ Back
A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III
Funny Pages
Men At Work
Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
Horror
Christine (1983)
Disquiet
Pet Sematary II
The Uninvited
Darkness
Pet Sematary (1989)
After.Life
American Carnage
The Cabin In The Woods
Fear Of Rain
Ginger Snaps
The Witch
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
Lamb
You’re Next
The Messengers
The New Daughter
Parents
Dead End (2003)
247 Degrees Fahrenheit
After Darkness
Aftershock
Alone In The Dark
Among The Shadows
Barrens
Blood Creek
Bloodline
Boy Eats Girl
Candyman III
Chained
Children Of The Corn: Runaway
Day Of The Dead: Bloodline
Demonic
The Dentist 2
The Dentist
Dracula 3000
Dreamkatcher
Embrace Of The Vampire
Fangoria: Blood Drive
Fangoria: Blood Drive II
Fear Clinic
Fertile Ground
The Fog
Ginger Snaps 3
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Martyrs (2015)
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Night Of The Living Dead 3D (2006)
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The Possession (2012)
Pulse III: Invasion
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Shivers
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Spectre
Strangeland
Summer Camp (2016)
Tamara
To Let
Toolbox Murders
The Vatican Tapes
Los Visitantes (2014)
Waxwork
Waxwork II: Lost In Time
Witch Hunt (2019)
Yakuza Apocalypse
The Monster
Woodshock
Too Scared To Scream
After Midnight (1989)
Asylum (2008)
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American Outlaws
Blue Hawaii
The Disorderly Orderly
The Family Jewels
Hatari!
The Gambler (1974)
Real Life (1979)
Cinderfella
Daisy Miller
Last Of The Red Hot Lovers
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Murder On The Orient Express
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Plaza Suite
The Great Escape
The Ballad Of Lefty Brown
Ulysses
The Producers
Park Row
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Woman Walks Ahead
Tom Sawyer (1973)
Apache
The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1968)
The Jackie Robinson Story
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Bandslam
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Merlin And The Book Of Beasts
The Secret Garden (2020)
Touchback
Wonder Park
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New Channels
Big Brother Live
This July, Pluto TV brings back its Big Brother Live category to coincide with the premiere of Big Brother season 28 on CBS on July 9. Fans can tune in 24/7 to five dedicated live channels streaming straight from inside the Big Brother house, including four room-specific feeds and a quad-view channel that captures every angle. From whispered alliances to shocking blindsides, no moment is off-limits. Plus, the Big Brother single-series channel streams past seasons around the clock, making it easy to relive iconic moments or catch up before the latest drama unfolds.
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MONSTER JAM WORLD FINALS — Monster Jam Channel
July 2–4.
Three nights of live coverage from Salt Lake City, including Qualifying, Day 1 and Championship action from the Monster Jam World Finals.
WNBA — ION
Live games on Fridays in July.
July 3: Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty; Chicago Sky at Las Vegas Aces
July 10: Dallas Wings at Toronto Tempo; Chicago Sky at Los Angeles Sparks
July 17: Seattle Storm at Indiana Fever; Connecticut Sun at Phoenix Mercury
July 31: Dallas Wings at Washington Mystics; Indiana Fever at Portland Fire
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Are you ready to return Runway? Not the runway, but Runway, the fictional magazine where Meryl Streep‘s Miranda Priestly reigns supreme? The Devil Wears Prada 2 finally arrives on Hulu in July, and you’re invited to the fashion movie event of the year – as long as you have a subscription. Miranda isn’t the only […]BOXING — DAZN Ringside
July 16: Live Press Conference — Eubank vs. Papot
July 17: Live Weigh In — Eubank vs. Papot
July 18: Live Prelims — Eubank vs. Papot
July 22: Live Open Workout — Joshua vs. Prenga
July 23: Live Press Conference — Joshua vs. Prenga
July 24: Live Weigh In — Joshua vs. Prenga
July 25: Live Prelims — Joshua vs. Prenga
GRAND OLE OPRY — Live Music Channel
Live performances every Saturday in July.
July 4: Kelsea Ballerini
July 11: Keith Urban
July 18: Blake Shelton
July 25: Reba McEntire
WOMEN’S SPORTS — AWSN
Live events throughout July.
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GREAT AMERICAN BLOCK PARTY 250 — CBS News 24/7
Live coverage of the Great American Block Party 250 Independence Day celebration on July 4.
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