Shams Charania reveals Mavericks’ 'friction' with Luka Doncic that factored into Anthony Davis swap

With the NBA world still reeling from Sunday's reported Luka Doncic trade, more details are emerging about what supposedly led the Dallas Mavericks to trade Doncic to the LA Lakers. One NBA insider now claims that the dynamic between Doncic and the Mavs front office took a turn for the worse this season.

Shams Charania, who broke the news of the deal that shook the NBA's foundations this past weekend, was on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday to discuss the blockbuster trade. When host Pat McAfee asked Charania about the circumstances that led to the Mavs parting ways with the Slovenian guard, Charania offered some insights:

"There has been levels of friction with Luka Doncic [and] the organization, even the medical staff, the performance staff," Charania revealed.

Charania explained that the "friction" was brought about by Doncic's conditioning. Despite the immense talent displayed by the five-time All-Star on the court, he reported that his game shape was a sticking point for the front office.

"Clearly, the Mavericks felt, in order to win a championship right now...in their mind, we are not gonna do it with Luka Doncic the way we're going to be able to do it with Anthony Davis," added Charania. "That is the gamble that they're making."

Having let go of Luka Doncic, the Mavericks now have — among other things — a lethal combination of Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson. Dallas fans are waiting for Davis's return from an abdominal injury to see whether the franchise's massive bet will pay off.

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Doncic trade draws comparison to blockbuster Kareem Abdul-Jabbal deal

Fans and analysts are now putting the Doncic-Davis trade into historical perspective. One ESPN writer went ahead and compared the Doncic deal to that of a Laker legend.

In an article published on Sunday, Tim Bontemps likened this colossal development to the trade that sent then-Milwaukee Bucks center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the LA Lakers 50 years ago:

"Just as the Lakers landed Abdul-Jabbar 50 years ago, they have now acquired an MVP-level talent in his prime," Bontemps wrote.

Bontemps also noted that, instead of contending for a title right away, it took years for the Lakers to add more pieces (such as Magic Johnson) to become a truly elite team. Of course, the same scenario could play out with Luka Doncic's arrival in Tinseltown.