The modern NBA It is based on drama and there is no more fertile ground for wild things to happen than the days prior to the exchange deadline. But absolutely no one could have seen this: The Lakers and Mavericks have agreed a three -way exchange With Utah who sends Anthony Davis to Dallas and … prepare … Luka Doncic to Los Angeles. Yes, Luka Doncic will now play for the Lakers with LeBron James.
While digging that, here are the complete details of the treatment:
I apologize for jazz fans, but no one has time to evaluate their part of this agreement. It is about Luka joining LeBron and the Mavericks, however crazy as it sounds, possibly better positioning himself in the short term to win a title. Now, we go to commercial grades.
The Lekers: A+
There is no other way to see this. Factoring both age and in production, the Lakers have just obtained what is probably the most coveted basketball player in the world, not called Victor Wembanyama. Doncic is only 25 years old. Getting such a good and this young player in an exchange is absolutely crazy. Honestly, you may never see such a score again in your life.
It almost doesn’t even matter how Luka and Lebron join or if they will have any possibility of staying defensively (probably not), because for the Lakers, the short -term implications of this agreement are not as important as this does in the long term, assuming that They lock Doncic in a maximum agreement as soon as possible.
The Lakers have been trying to discover their subsequent plan for the Lebrons for some time. They have remained firm with their future first -round teams knowing that they could not empty their closet as LeBron aged, which will surely happen, right? Well, Luka Doncic is practically responsible for that concern, and to think, they did not even have to give up their eligible selections to get it. They could still leave and make even more movements before the deadline on Thursday.
This is really incredible. I don’t know if Rob Pelinka is the most fortunate or smarter man alive, but the Lakers are celebrating tonight.
Mavericks: f
So here is the strange: I really think the mavericks are better positioned to win a championship With Anthony Davis, assuming the complete health of the postseason, which with Luka Doncic … today. Right now. And yet, they still get an “F” because you can’t change Luka Doncic, no unless your hand is forced.
Upon hearing the news, that was my only rational explanation for the agreement. The Mavericks had to have been forced by Doncic behind closed doors. He must have told him that he wanted to leave, and that they did not want to wait until the next season when his voice was run and lost leverage.
Through that lens, I went to CBS Sports HQ and initially gave the mavericks a c-, because I am about Davis and have to do everything in terms of the players.
This is where the reports began to diverge. According to Marc Stein, Doncic “did not request an exchange“And the Mavericks did this completely on their own. Bill Reiter ‘by CBS Sports, however, informs something slightly differentThat the Mavericks felt essentially that Doncic was going to be difficult to continue considering their free agency in the summer of 2026 and all the teams that are currently organizing their books to run. Then they got ahead of a disaster even though it had not officially begun.
This thing is fluid. We are going to listen to small, or perhaps large, a context context for a long time. I have to believe that Doncic possibly left the MAVs, whether I really had that behind closed door or not, played a role in the thought of Nico Harrison, and that’s why I give him credit. These stars that are hostage of equipment are a nightmare. The teams have to get ahead of these things if they feel it approaches.
That said, Harrison made it quite clear that at least a decent part of his reasoning to make this exchange was related to basketball. It was not because Luka asked or demanded; It was because he does not play defense and does not remain fit.
“I think the defense wins championships,” said Mavs general manager Nico Harrison, about his motivation to change Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. “I think that obtaining a defense center and an NBA player with a defensive mentality gives us a better opportunity. We are built to win now and in the future.”
Macmahon Also reported that the Mavericks had “important concerns” about associating with Doncic in another maximum contract “due to their constant conditioning problems.”
So this is the context we need, or at least as much as we can expect in the immediacy of a trade of this magnitude. The Mavericks do not trust that Luka stay fit and do not trust that he play defense and believe that the defense is essential to win a championship, and I do not think you find many people who do not agree with any of those things.
Luka Doncic trade: What factors did the Lakers and Mavericks take to make the most shocking agreement in the NBA history?
Bill Reiter
Nor do I think you find many people, all those things even though this trade would have done without a strong and clear demand of Doncic. It is not a clue that a lawsuit can arrive. Not after looking at the landscape and trying to predict the future. A complete situation of “trade or otherwise.” In the absence of that, there is the possibility that Nico Harrison be the only GM in the story that this treatment would have made.
It is Luka, man. He is a unique player in a generation, even when he is out of shape and does not play defense. I’m sorry. It is too big and too young to trade, even if the worries are reasonable and even if you are possibly in a better place to win a short -term title, which I think is the case of the Mavericks.
Luka was a defensive disaster at the end of last year. The Celtics delighted with him. Dallas did not have the opportunity to win that series, even with Luka being offensively. Davis can play with Daniel Gafford or Derek Lively and give the Mavericks a massive defensive front line, and it is a combination of two absolutely perfect men with Kyrie Irving, whom the mavericks feel comfortable who feel comfortable turning their offensive, with shots around him.
If Davis is healthy in the playoffs, Dallas will be unpleasant. Just look. But I will tell you what, even if they really win the title, it will still be difficult to justify this treatment. It will be much easier than if they don’t, but still will endure for a long time, letting Luka Doncic go on your own.
In two years, when Davis is 34 years old and Kyrie is 35 years old and Doncic is winning MVP, they will wake up one morning in a cold sweat wondering what the hell they did, in the same way that the hawks, as well as the Young has been and by As justifiable as that Draft Day trade seemed on paper at that time, it will never overcome Luka.
Look, that’s the thing. Davis will be out of his best moment in the blink of an eye. The Mavericks, if they really wanted to do this, could have come out and get so many future draft teams that would not have known what to do with them. But they chose the best team that could build at this time. It is myopic, but it is what they chose to do. I cannot see in any way, they will not end up repenting me once the time passes enough, however, these next seasons shake.
OK that’s fine. If they win consecutive titles, I will give it to Nico.
But until then, I mean, I don’t know what else to say. This is ridiculous. You may have completely different thoughts especially this in a week, one month, or one year, or in five years, but at this time, this is how it shakes in my head. The Mavericks are better positioned to win a title with Davis this season of what they would have been with Doncic, and yet they still made a massive mistake.
