The NBA, despite the decline in ratings, always finds a way to draw fans back in and get them to say, “this league”. Pandomnium struck NBA Twitter when the Shams Charania tweet hit:
Even Shams, on a recent episode of Get Up, said he thought his phone was hacked when he received the text with the details of the trade. It took minutes (which felt like hours) for NBA fans to figure out if Shams’ Twitter itself was hacked after he broke the news. Then a follow-up tweet saying, “Yes, it’s real,” by the ESPN Insider confirmed the news of the biggest trade in NBA history.
Luka Doncic is 25 and just entering his prime years. He has finished All-NBA First Team in each of the five seasons following his rookie year and has been in the top fivein MVP voting on three separate occasions. He is the definition of a generational talent.
The Trade
It’s been reported that Dallas had eyes for Anthony Davis and specifically targeted him as a desired return for a Luka Doncic trade. Mavs general manager Nico Harrison stated that the Mavericks did not dangle Luka Doncic in trade talks with teams besides the Los Angeles Lakers. My guess is the Mavericks had a list of players they’d want in exchange for Luka, and Anthony Davis was the “x” best player on that list. Let’s say that number theoretically is six. The Mavericks may have had players like Jokic, Giannis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and maybe even Victor Wembanyama on that list ahead of Davis on that list. That may have signaled to Dallas that AD was the most attainable franchise-altering talent in a Luka trade return package. My issue wasn’t the Mavs targeting Davis for a Doncic package. My issue was that the Mavericks didn’t push the Lakers for a harder bargain in terms of assembling a trade package for a franchise-altering talent in his prime like Doncic.
Had you told me last week that the Lakers would be acquiring Doncic, my expectation would’ve been Davis, in addition to Austin Reaves, plus 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht. In terms of picks, both the 2029 and 2031 firsts would’ve been headed to Dallas in addition to pick swaps in 2026, 2028, and 2030. The cupboard would’ve been dry alongside LeBron and Doncic. The Mavericks and Lakers could’ve even gotten a third team involved to take on Rui Hachimura so that the Lakers could send additional assets in exchange for Doncic.
The fact that it was only Davis, Christie, and a single 2029 first is baffling. I’ve been a big proponent of the job Nico Harrison has done since taking over for Dallas in 2021, and I respect him making a move that 29 other GMs likely wouldn’t have. Still, as stated above, Luka Doncic is a generational talent. It’s also worth noting the relationship that Harrison, the former Nike executive, has with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, Kobe Bryant’s former agent. The two of them worked closely together while negotiating Kobe’s shoe deals.
The Mavericks Aspect
The first aspect of this deal is that Doncic is 25 years old, while AD is turning 32 next month. Whether defense wins championships or not, as Nico Harrison believes, the Mavs have had a historic offense under Luka that catapulted them to the NBA Finals last season.
Meanwhile, regarding draft capital, the Mavs owe each of their 2027-2030 firsts outright or in swaps. Given AD and Kyrie Irving’s age, that’s not ideal. And while there was a perception around the league that the Lakers’ unprotected 2029 first was valuable due to LeBron James’ age, now that they have Luka Doncic, the value of that pick is substantially decreased.
After being drafted in 2018, Doncic instantly became the face of the franchise, and Harrison has spent the last 3.5 years building the perfect roster around Doncic, which was evidenced by Dallas winning the Western Conference and making it to the NBA Finals last year. After adding Klay Thompson to that core, it seemed like Dallas’ historic offense with Doncic as the catalyst would be even better. With this said, Doncic not only became one of the faces of the league, but he also likely became the most valuable asset in the entire league. And even then, it didn’t seem like a realistic possibility that the Mavericks would voluntarily move him.
According to ESPN’s Ramon Shelbourne and Tim McMahon, Luka’s 11-day absence in late November due to a wrist sprain was actually meant for the former Mavericks star to shed some weight “after he ballooned into the high 260s.” That may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Harrison and Pelinka began discussing Doncic trade scenarios in early January.
Now, that Dallas roster that was tailored to Doncic’s strengths will now need to cater to the strengths of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers Aspect
For the Lakers, as I stated above, the cupboards alongside LeBron and Luka should be pretty bare. However, that’s not the case. The Lakers still have a semblance of a roster (despite a couple of big men), and they have the assets to make another move or two before Thursday’s deadline. However, as currently constructed, they have two of the all-time great ball-dominant players who need to share the ball. There’s also the fact that this iteration of the Lakers will be a bottom-tier defense in the NBA. But when Luka knocks, you answer. And the Lakers acquired the talent alongside LeBron now and will figure the rest out later, whether it’s prior to the trade deadline or this offseason.
There were always questions about a post-LeBron Lakers era led by Anthony Davis. That path suddenly becomes much more appealing for Lakers fans now that they’ll be led by Doncic. The question is how the Lakers will fill out the rest of this roster, especially with how they’ll answer the center position. As previously stated, the Lakers have their 2031 first to trade, multiple swaps they can offer, and Dalton Knecht. Additionally, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt can be salary fillers in a deal. It’s been speculated that the Lakers are after Pacers big man, Myles Turner. If the Pacers do not want to move Turner, the Nets have players such as Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe, while the Trailblazers can offer Robert Williams and Duop Reath. Maybe they have enough assets to acquire the Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl.
Nonetheless, whether the Lakers increased their championship odds for this year is still unknown. They have by far increased the championship window for years to come. How they fill the roster out around LeBron, Luka, and Austin Reaves will dictate the Lakers’ title chances and how quickly LeBron and Luka can get back to the finals, this time as teammates.
The Impact on the NBPA and the Death of the Supermax
While NBA players are in their player empowerment era, this CJ McCollum tweet sums up how every NBA player should feel:
While the NBA’s most untouchable player suddenly gets traded for a package that was deemed underwhelming, this trade signals that players can never get comfortable in their NBA homes. In fact, it was reported that Luka had just bought a new house in Dallas LAST WEEK.
While some players, such as the Warriors’ Steph Curry and the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokoumnpo, this trade signifies that there’s no such thing as an ‘untouchable’ in the NBA. While the new CBA rewards All-NBA talents with lucrative rewards and contract bonuses, this trade signals that players always need to be looking over their backs.
Meanwhile, the supermax was introduced in 2017, and it was designed to incentivize players to stay with their incumbent teams and prevent player movement, especially stars in smaller markets. That didn’t change Kawhi Leonard’s mind when he requested to leave San Antonio, nor did it affect Anthony Davis’ mindset when he wanted to leave New Orleans. Meanwhile, other players, such as Bradley Beal, did receive the supermax, and now he’s perceived as the worst contract in the NBA.
While people initially thought that Luka either requested a trade or was unwilling to sign his 5/$345 million supermax, which would make him the highest-paid player in NBA history, neither of these appears to be the case. Marc Stein confirmed this, saying Luka had every intention of signing that supermax deal with the Mavericks. Given that a player can only sign a supermax with their incumbent team, Luka will lose out on the possibility of over $116 million.
As previously stated, Dallas’ issues with Luka’s weight and conditioning made them a little queasy when considering signing him to the largest deal in the history of the NBA. Some may say Dallas’ concerns are valid, while it appears the majority believes they were nitpicking. With the restrictions of the new CBA in terms of the first and second aprons, teams may be more cautious than previously to pay one individual player 35% of the cap. But if Luka couldn’t get it starting in 2027, then who should we expect to get that kind of commitment?
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