The Max Christie trade: How the "other" new Maverick is helping ease Dallas fans pain

The Dallas Mavericks made one of the biggest and most shocking trades in sports history, shipping Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Mavs. Not only did the Mavericks trade a 25-year-old with five All-NBA First Team nods on his ledger already, but the return that they got for him looked incredibly underwhelming.

Look, Anthony Davis is a great player, but he isn't as good as Doncic is right now, is six years older, and has been injury-prone for a lot of his career. Had the Mavericks gotten every non-LeBron asset the Lakers had, the deal might've been more palatable, but they didn't. Instead, the Mavericks got Max Christie and one first-round pick, leaving Los Angeles with enough assets to immediately trade for Mark Williams — a perfect center to pair with Doncic.

While Mavericks fans are still irritated by this deal and will be for quite some time, Davis did his best to calm the fans down by putting together an absurdly dominant half of basketball in his Mavericks debut. He looked like a player who could legitimately lead them to a championship.

Unfortunately, the good vibes immediately vanished, as Davis left his debut game with an injury. The Mavericks won the game, but at what cost if Davis is now hurt? The trade looks like the fleece of the century if Davis has can't be on the floor consistently.

As disheartening as things are in Dallas right now, the trade isn't a complete waste right now thanks to the strong start to Christie's Mavericks career.

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Max Christie continues to shine in early Mavericks career

While Saturday marked Davis' debut with the team, it was Christie's third game with the Mavericks. In his first two games, he totaled 30 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists, averaging 15 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 52.4/57.1/57.1 splits in a shade over 30 minutes per contest. He looked like a key contributor on a winning team. Then on Saturday, Christie put together his best performance of his brief Mavericks tenure.

Christie scored 23 points, ranking second on the team in that regard only behind Davis. He drilled four of his five three-point attempts and nine of his 10 free throws in 33 minutes of action. One of the three-pointers he hit essentially iced the game. This was Christie's second 20+ point game of the season, and he accomplished that feat in his third game with the Mavericks.

Christie spent parts of three seasons with the Lakers, but never really earned the opportunity to play regularly until this season. He has played even more in Dallas, and the early returns are extremely promising. Christie is a 21-year-old in the first year of a ridiculously team-friendly four-year, $32 million extension. He's making $7.1 million this season and won't make more than $8.8 million in any year under this deal.

Christie alone doesn't make up for the Doncic trade, especially with Davis hurt, but he's doing his best to make the trade look even the slightest bit better for Dallas. He can be a key contributor in Dallas for several years on incredibly cheap money, making him a valuable asset Mavericks fans should be excited about.