The basketball world shook last Saturday night and there are still aftershocks. The Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis in a 3-team blockbuster, the most stunning trade in recent NBA history. Text chains were blowing up, social media was buzzing, and talking heads were losing their minds. The NBA circle was in disbelief trying to make sense of what just happened.
There were no rumors, no warnings. Doncic, a 25-year-old superstar, a 5-time All-NBA 1st teamer who had just carried Dallas to the NBA Finals last season is coming to Los Angeles. Anthony Davis, a 31-year-old 10-time All-Star who won an NBA title with the Lakers a few years ago is going to Dallas.
The Lakers also received Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in the trade, while Dallas got Max Christie and the Lakers 2029 1st round draft pick. The Jazz were the third team involved in the trade, picking up Jalen Hood-Schifino in addition to two 2nd round picks.
Long-term, the Lakers are getting a future Hall-of-Famer, a young global legend who can completely take over a game. Luka scored 73 points in a game, has scored 50+ points 7 times in his career and led the league in scoring last season with 33.9 points per game, while finishing 3rd in the Most Valuable Player race.
With the ball in his hands, he’s magical. At 6’6, the 230-pound point guard who uses his body expertly to create separation to launch step back three-pointers or fadeaway shots in the mid-range. He can get to the basket and finish with contact, accelerating and decelerating to keep defenders off-balance. He’s an excellent passer, averaging 8.3 assists per game for his career. The term, ‘Plays at his own pace’ was practically made for Doncic.
But Doncic doesn’t come without criticism. Defensively, there’s a lot to be desired. His conditioning has been questioned often, especially at the beginning of NBA seasons. And then there’s the constant complaining to referees, picking up at least 15 technical fouls in each of the last four seasons.
Short-term, the questions are about how he fits with LeBron James. As a ball-dominant player, who thrives with athletic big men and wing shooters, how will Doncic get LeBron involved offensively and vice versa? How does Austin Reaves, who has been the primary ball-handler this season and has thrived in his role, come into the equation? What will the Lakers do defensively with minimal rim protection and a few days left before the trade deadline to bolster their frontline.
Doncic has made it work with Kyrie Irving, another ball-dominant All-Star, so there’s optimism two high-IQ players like James and Doncic will figure out how to maximize each other’s strengths and Reaves has played the shooting guard position in his career and is comfortable catching and shooting.
Laker general manager Rob Pelinka has another 1st round pick in 2031 he can trade if the Lakers are desperate for a rim protector. As much as this deal was for the future, not all is lost for the present. In fact, the Lakers’ odds to win a title actually went up from +4000 to +2500 on FanDuel Sportsbook.
As for Davis, he was coming off one of the healthiest seasons of his career, playing in 76 games last season and 42 of 47 games this season. One of the best defenders and rebounders in the NBA, he will be sorely missed on the backline. In six seasons with the Lakers, he averaged 24.8 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and 2.2 block shots per game and was widely thought to be the bridge for the Lakers in a post-LeBron James era. That thought is now over.
According to reports, James, Doncic, and Davis all did not know this trade was coming. Players around the league were just as surprised. “Insane, it’s crazy, crazy,” said Phoenix Sun star Kevin Durant to reporters following the Suns game last Saturday. “I would have never thought Luka Doncic would get traded at this age.”
No one did, except the Lakers and Mavericks decision-makers. The NBA landscape will continue to shake in the upcoming days and likely years as a repercussion of this seismic deal.
The Lakers’ next four games will be against the Clippers on the road on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and they have three home games against the Warriors on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Pacers on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Jazz on Monday at 7:30 p.m.