Report: 1 Team Rejected Mavs' Luka Dončić Trade Nearly 2 Weeks Before Lakers Deal

The Dallas Mavericks had reportedly been considering trading Luka Dončić for weeks before sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a Saturday night blockbuster.

According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, the Mavs reached out to another NBA team "nearly two weeks ago" about potentially trading Dončić "for another star."

"That bid was turned down, but the message sent in the process had been clear: There was trouble brewing in Dallas," Amick wrote.

The Lakers capitalized by snagging the 25-year-old Dončić in a deal that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas.

Dončić has not played since suffering a non-contact left calf injury on Christmas Day.

The Mavs slipped down the Western Conference standings quickly without him, going 4-8 over the next three weeks while sliding out of a guaranteed playoff spot and into the play-in round.

It may have been at that point that the Mavericks reportedly started looking at trading their injured star.

The report that the Mavs reached out to another team and proposed a trade comes after general shock that Dončić was moved to the Lakers so abruptly, rather than widely marketed in an effort to receive the largest possible return.

Dončić would have been eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer had he remained with the mavericks, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

Although that number dips now that Dončić will seek an extension with a new team, he is still extension eligible for a five-year, $229 million contract, per Marks.

Any team considering a Dončić trade had to be willing to both part with a star player and potentially take on a new contract worth more than $45 million per year.

Whatever the Mavericks' hopes as to who they would get in return for Dončić, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor previously reported the Lakers have had their sights set on the Mavs star since at least before the start of the 2024-25 season.

Shams Charania said in a Sunday appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter the Lakers are hoping to see Dončić return from his calf injury ahead of the All-Star Break. The Lakers have five games remaining before All-Star weekend begins on Feb. 16.