Fifteen years ago, best-selling author Michael Lewis wrote "The Big Short," a book that became the defining tome of the financial crisis of the late aughts.
Saturday night, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison authored the NBA's version of "The Big Short," when he agreed to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package led by Anthony Davis. It was a deal so shocking that after ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news, dozens of people instantly reached out to ask whether his social media account had been hacked.
As Shams confirmed, it hadn't been. The Mavericks chose to make a stunning bet against the future of a player who, at 25 years old, has one of the most decorated résumés in basketball history.
Doncic has been an All-NBA First Team selection each of the past five seasons. While he's not eligible to make the team this season because of the calf strain that has sidelined him since Dec. 25, he is one of only five active players to have at least that many First Team selections (and one of only 28 in NBA history).
The other four? Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Doncic's new teammate, LeBron James.
Antetokounmpo turned 30 in early December. Harden is 35. Durant is 36. James is 40.
Doncic doesn't even turn 26 until Feb. 28.
Doncic is an elite offensive talent who led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. He entered this season ranked second only to Nikola Jokic in ESPN's NBA Rank and was a co-favorite alongside Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win his first MVP award. He has also had remarkable success internationally playing for his native Slovenia.
As a result, the unanimous reaction from anyone outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in the early hours of Saturday morning was that the Lakers had won the trade -- and that they couldn't understand it.
"What the f--- is happening," said an assistant coach.