Philly Front Office

While we were all laying down counting Saquan rushing yards to go to sleep, the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to Dallas for Luka Docic.  Dallas also received LA’s 2029 first and Max Christie, while receiving Maxi Kleiber and Markeiff Morris. Utah was involved, acquiring Jalen Hood-Schifino and second rounders.  No exaggeration, this is one of the biggest sports trades of all time. It’s a stunner too, considering NO ONE was on to this ahead of time. Let’s break this bad boy down!

What does this mean for Dallas?

Rumors are already circulating that Dallas wanted no part of a 5-year $345m max extension with Luka because he is regularly hurt and out of shape. He can do anything with a basketball, including eating Big Macs and drinking milkshakes. Unfortunately, defense is also not with the basketball, so that’s right out. They will not have this problem with Davis who is playing great, still in his prime, and doesn’t overlap in the lack of defense department with new teammate Kyrie Irving. Speaking of which, this roster makes a lot more sense now. I know Dallas made the Finals last year, but they had to see that they were not winning a title with that duo and pivoted. Davis will move down to power forward on Dallas’s roster and they can theoretically compete better with Denver, Houston, and OKC in the west.

That was the sunny side of the trade, but they also just traded away Luka freaking Doncic!!! He is 6 years younger than Davis. That’s more than a contract’s worth of play that the Mavericks just gave away. Doncic has been All-NBA first team for 5 consecutive years and is one of the most marketable athletes in the world. They just punted their future for a marginal present upgrade.

There wasn’t even a hint that this trade was going down. No public swiping, no rumors of secret unhappiness, nothing. Do you realize how many times the Mavs front office must have told Luka to get in shape only to be blown off for this to happen? Players like Luka do not get traded unless they want to get traded. There is no evidence of that here. They had to be completely fed up with him and worked quickly to get this done.

So, if they didn’t want to pay fair market for Doncic for ages 26-31, do they want to overpay for Davis ages 32-38? He just signed a 3-year extension, but it comes with a player option on the final year. Davis isn’t going to fall off a cliff any time soon, so are they ready to pay Davis even more than Luka in his mid 30s??? Let’s say he doesn’t like it there and they have to trade him too, what then? They will have no Davis, no Luka, likely no Kyrie, and let’s not forget that they don’t have Jalen Brunson either. As much as this helps this season, this is terrible from a long-term standpoint.

So does this mean LA won the trade?

I don’t know if you can really say that either. The Lakers weren’t really going anywhere this season and I think they realized that. Instead of improving their roster and giving one last real shot for LeBron to win another title, they gave up. This is not a move made by serious title contenders. LBJ and Luka might be fun in a vacuum, but without other moves in the front court, they are a first-round exit waiting to happen.

For the future though, they just got their next star. Outside of a few lean years here and there, the Lakers always have a star. If they don’t, they get one. That’s exactly what they did here. Luka is the next generation of marketable, fun Laker centerpieces. They have someone to build around for the next 10 years.

Does this mean Lebron gets traded? It isn’t likely, but it also isn’t impossible. He is almost indestructible, but he is still 40+ years old. Does he make a play to go somewhere else? I think the move is completely his to decide. If I am the Lakers, I am certainly broaching the subject in a compassionate but completely phony way like, “what would you like to do Lebron, we can send you anywhere that makes you happy if you want?”

Oh Danny Ainge, what are we going to do with you?

This mother fucker just can’t help himself. The other two GMs knew they needed another guy who couldn’t say no in order to keep this quiet. “There’s no way Danny Ainge says no to extra draft picks, call him up.” Of course he would jump at this chance no questions asked. The weird thing here is that Utah owns the Lakers 2027 first round pick from the Russell Westbrook salary dump two years ago. Maybe they are betting on the Lakers being a mess rather than a future destination? It is certainly on the table for Luka to get injured, Lebron to be retired, and the Lakers to be floundering once that Lakers pick gets ripe. I’m not going to bet that Danny Ainge messed up here.

Stunner

The craziest part of this was the lack of planning. Superstar trades happen, but usually after a drawn-out process and they are usually for draft picks. LOADS of draft picks. This was not a highest bidder situation. It couldn’t have been because no rumors got out. Anthony Davis is a star, but he is just not Luka Doncic. Strangely, as I look around the league, I can’t imagine any other trade for him that would give the Mavs the big man they apparently wanted. I guess they knew the Lakers wouldn’t say no either. Again, they must have absolutely hated him by the end. That’s the only way a trade like this goes down.