At 11 pm last night, the NBA world was shocked as Dallas Mavericks superstar, Luka Doncic, had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. Now that it is confirmed that Shams Charania was not hacked, and the trade is real, it is safe to say that this will go down as the biggest trade in NBA history.
Although there are many strong opinions regarding this trade, one thing is clear, this was a desperate move by Mavericks GM Nico Harrison. Currently sitting at the eighth seed in the Western Conference, it looked to be difficult for the Mavs to make a deep playoff run this season. Whether it is because of his looming contract extension or his poor conditioning, Harrison didn’t feel Doncic was fit to lead the team back to glory. This is shocking given that Doncic led the Mavs to the NBA Finals just a season ago. Either way, Harrison believes that Anthony Davis’ big defensive presence will instill a defensive culture in Dallas. Although this is probably true, trading your 25-year-old MVP-caliber player for a 31-year-old injury-prone player is a terrible idea. Only time will tell if Anthony Davis paired with Kyrie Irving will even be better for the Mavs to win now.
For the Lakers, this is an all-time great trade. Although they have been successful this season, sitting fifth in the west, they did not have the talent to beat the OKC Thunder or Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series. Anthony Davis had been playing at an elite level, but his age was starting to show, and injuries are an inevitability for him. Pairing Doncic with LeBron James not only cements the Lakers as a top team in the NBA, but it also sets up the Lakers with their superstar for the next ten years. When LeBron inevitably retires in the next few years, the Lakers will have Doncic to build around.
This trade is yet another example of the rich getting richer in the NBA. The Lakers went from Magic and Kareem to Kobe and Shaq, to LeBron and Davis, to now LeBron and Luka. We will have to wait and see how both the Lakers and the Mavericks look on the court after this trade, but less than 24 hours after this trade it looks like the Lakers won this trade by a landslide.
Third Down With Devin 