Unexpected. That is the only true way to describe this trade. There are so many interesting ways this could turn out. This trade could truly end up being the biggest trade in NBA history. Luka Dončić on the Lakers. That is a sentence I never expected to be saying. Luka and Lebron on the same team will be electric. I know that I can’t wait to watch some of the insane plays and highlights that they manage to cook up. There’s also another part of this trade. Anthony Davis to the Mavericks. Anthony Davis is an interesting player on his own. I know I am one of many that are excited to see how he fits into a relatively young Mavs team who are led by Kyrie Irving.
Was the trade even?
No. In my opinion this trade was an absolute steal for the Lakers. The Lakers get Luka Dončić, an MVP level player who quite frankly has the potential to be a top 10 player of all time by the end of his career. Then I would have to put in a whole bunch more time into taking another deep dive into my list (if you haven’t already read that then what are you waiting for!!!). They also get Maxi Kleber, who has his moments but isn’t worth all that much in the current market, and Markieff Morris, who gets a few minutes here and there but also isn’t worth a lot. The Mavs got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first round pick. The person people really care about is Anthony Davis, who at age 31 was averaging the most points on the whole Lakers team. Personally, I would trade Luka for AD in a heartbeat. If you are confused about why that is, let me lay it out for you. Luka is averaging more points, is much much younger, is at the start/middle of his prime, and isn’t injury prone. AD is 31, ridiculously injury prone, way after his prime, and demands a lot of money (so does Luka but he’s worth a lot more). The reason that the Mavs traded Luka is because of his current physical condition. Luka is currently overweight and the Mavericks think that he’s going to stay that way. Luka is currently in his prime, and therefore should be trying to squeeze out every possible bit of the amazing magic we know he can produce. The Mavericks are essentially betting that Luka isn’t going to get his act together. There betting that Luka is going to turn into a player like Zion Williams who has potential but is hindered by work ethic. They believe that the Lakers are gonna spend years waiting for Luka to become the superstar that they need and that that will never happen. The Utah Jazz were also involved in this trade but nowhere near as much as the other teams. They got Jalen Hood-Schifino, who is as shooting guard with high potential, a Clippers 2025 second round pick, and a Mavericks 2025 second round pick. Overall, the Lakers got an absolute steal, and if I had to give this trade a grade from their perspective, I would give them an A+. The Mavericks got completely scammed. I think that their GM needs to slow down a little bit. I would give them a C-. The only reason that grade isn’t worse is that if AD stays healthy, he can be an absolute beast. From the perspective of Jazz, nothing really changed. They’re currently one of the worst teams in the NBA so trading for picks is a good idea. I would give them a B+ because nothing really changed all that much for them.
Overall, the last few days have been a crazy few in the NBA. Not only did this absolute blockbuster of a trade happen, but another one did too (hint: Fox to the Spurs!). Be sure to read that article too!
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