The most charitable possible explanation for the Luka Dončić trade -- and this was already a stretch -- was that it improved the team's short-term prospects. Nico Harrison told us as much when he said,

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss opened up about the Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis NBA trade during an appearance on NPR. Buss implied that Davis “wasn’t happy” in Los Angeles. “We gave up a lot to get Luka Dončić,