I am still processing what happened last week. Like most people I was shocked when I heard the news that Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers. I found out about it from a friend who happens to be a Laker’s fan. He sent it in our group chat late that night. I thought he was joking. Then the next morning I went to YouTube and the very first thing I saw was ‘Breaking News: Luka Doncic has been traded to the Lakers.’ NO FUCKING WAY! In my mind, I thought who did the Lakers gave up to get him because they don’t have any appealing assets outside of Reaves and Davis and a couple of picks. I went to the ESPN website to see the full trade package. After I finished reading it, I kept looking for more players and picks in the deal. Nope. That was the trade. Now I’m super confused. THE LAKERS STOLE LUKA! Why did Dallas do this? Are we sure this is real? Those questions and statements were going through my mind.
After coming to the realization that this is legit, I had a feeling that Dallas traded him because of the weight issues. I was thinking that before actual reports came out for their reasoning for trading him, which I will get into later. If you follow Dallas for the last couple of seasons, Coach Kidd and the front office has been very vocal of their concerns of Luka inability to stay consistently in shape. After Dallas won the conference championship last year in Minnesota, there was a video of Luka trying to drink some beer and Michael Finally just snatched the drink from him. Haralabos Voulgaris, former director of quantitative research and development for the Dallas Mavericks, has mentioned in a podcast in the past that Luka did not have the greatest diet during his time with the team. This has been an ongoing issue for quite some time.
Even though those concerns are valid, he still took this team to the Finals last season. Yes, Luka’s defense in that series was bad, but they still lost to the better team and a team that was historically great last year. Three seasons ago he took his team to the conference finals by destroying the number one seed Phoenix Suns in a game seven at their house. The weight issue may seem understandable, but still not good enough to trade him, which leads to my next point.
Dallas has a new ownership group. Owners in sports are probably the most underrated characters in the sports world. These people have a huge influence on what be going on in the organization both directly and indirectly. New owner syndrome is real. A lot of times the new owners are going to walk in wanting to make reckless, splashing moves or be really fucking cheap with the team.
The Dallas Mavericks previous owner was Mark Cuban, who was a Luka guy since the day they traded for him in the draft. He has a strong attachment towards Luka. The new owners….not so much.
Luka was up for a five year, 347 million contract extension starting next season. The Dallas front office was hesitant to give up that extension because of the weight issues and lack of discipline with his nutrition. I also believe ownership was also hesitant to do the same thing. The belief was that they do not want to be in a situation similar to how the Sixers are with Joel Embid and New Orleans with Zion Williamson. I cannot disagree with those theories more. Joel Embid has never made it past round two, and has not been good in the playoffs throughout his career. Zion has never played in a playoff game. LUKA HAD THIS TEAM IN THE FINALS LAST YEAR!! He was coming off a series in which he averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists against the best defensive team in the league in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I personally believe that they are leaving some stuff out. I think something else happened that led to where we are now. I do not think we will what else happened until years later. That is my opinion.
Now what this means for the Lakers? First, they have now their guy for the post Lebron era. You cannot do any better than getting the second best player in the league who is ONLY 25. This is the first time in Lebron James’ career that he is now the second option on the floor for his team, but also in roster decision making for the front office. I think the fit of him and Luka is going to be great. These are the smartest players in the league. The two best skip court pass players in the league. The two best players in hunting for mismatches in the pick and roll. This probably won’t be a high tempo offense. They will push when they have the opportunity. Adding Mark Williams to the Lakers from Charlotte is going to add a lop threat that Luka always desires. This might be a hot take, but I think the Lakers are the second best team in the conference and I believe they’re going to make it to round 3 if they can avoid Oklahoma City in round 2. Luka and Lebron as teammates is a nightmare matchup for the opposing team in a seven game series.
What does this mean for Dallas now and long term? Long term it seems bleak in my opinion unless they can trade Davis and/or Irving to get some draft capital in return. What makes this trade even more confusing is that Dallas does not even control their draft picks in the next four seasons after 2026. They owe their pick to Charlotte unless it finishes in the top 2 in 2027. OKC has the right to swap in 2028. Houston has the right to swap in 2029. San Antonio has the right to swap in 2030. They do not fully control their pick until 2031. It just makes no fucking sense.
Currently their team is good, but the belief that this team is a championship contender team is wild to me. I do not see it. They do not have a reliable shot creator outside of Kyrie who against certain teams he is going to struggle against. Their defense has improved, but their offense ceiling has dropped drastically. I know the saying that defense wins championships, but in the new NBA, you have to be a top 10 offense to win a championship. I do not see a top 10 offense with this team. I put them in the same category as the Warriors with Jimmy Butler. A team that can give a team a scare in round one and potentially win a series, but the furthest this team will go is round 2.
What does this mean for the NBA? Luka will have the highest selling jersey. That is an easy one. Tv Ratings going up? Are the Las Vegas conspiracy theories true? I doubt it. Owners and front offices gaining back control over player empowerment? I also doubt it.
I would say the part most people are leaving out is how terrified teams are of the apron rules now. We saw a record amount of trades at the deadline because teams were trying to go under the tax. I think some of Dallas thought the process of trading Luka and not giving him the extension was not being a second apron team in the long run. I do not think we will see a player in Luka’s caliber get traded mid season for a long team. This stuff rarely happens throughout the history of the NBA outside of Durant going to Phoenix, Harden going to Brooklyn or Gasol to the Lakers. But we knew they were most likely going to get traded. At the same time, I think this might be the new norm of trades because of the apron rules.
Overall, the Luka trade will go down as one of the craziest trades probably in sports in terms of shock value. This gave a new opportunity for Lebron to win his 5th ring. Fucking wild! The Lakers got another all time great player. Nico Harrison's name will always bring a strong level of sickness to Dallas fans. These are the types of trades as basketball junkies like myself will be telling future kids and grandkids for years to come. I still can’t believe this happened. WTF
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