Luka Doncic in Los Angeles Lakers...

[john_entony]

... and Anthony Davis in Dallas Mavericks!

In addition to swapping stars, Los Angeles Lakers received Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, while the Dallas Mavericks received the 1st pick of the draft of 2029 and Max Christie. Utah Jazz also participated in this swap, receiving Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2nd round draft picks. Absolutely, this historic swap is certainly one we should discuss! Which of the two teams do you think got more of an advantage for future growth, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Mavericks?

 

[BillyR23]

IMO it's definitely the Lakers as they've given so little(an aging star and often injured - AD * not questioning he's skills as IMO he can be considered top5 players in the league when fully healthy...), to get the face of their Franchise and top3 players(someone that can give you 30+ pts/ 9rebounds/ 9 assists every game) for the next 10 years...

The thing that surprised me the most is that Luka wanted to stay and was just 'pushed' away like this...

 

[Miguelpaniura0893]

The big winner will be the Los Angeles Lakers. He is a great player with a great future. He totally destroys all his opponents with his physical game and his particular way of playing. He is an expert in playing man against man. I think he will be a great superstar. He can lead the team for many years, he is very dominant in the paint, I hope to see him in action with my favorite NBA team, let's go Lakers.

 

[john_entony]

IMO it's definitely the Lakers as they've given so little(an aging star and often injured - AD * not questioning he's skills as IMO he can be considered top5 players in the league when fully healthy...), to get the face of their Franchise and top3 players(someone that can give you 30+ pts/ 9rebounds/ 9 assists every game) for the next 10 years...

The thing that surprised me the most is that Luka wanted to stay and was just 'pushed' away like this...

If we're talking about Luka Doncic from last season, the Lakers certainly won in that trade. But this season, the Slovenian is overweight (122 kilos) and also has injury problems. But as you rightly said, Anthony Davis is 32 years old. And this is the first season he is playing with minimal injuries. But if we are talking about the future of the Lakers, I'm certainly excited! Luka Doncic is the kind of player who, in optimal shape and health, can, even without LeBron James, pull the Lakers to the West Finals with their current roster.

 

[ztibor72]

This was a pretty surprising trade.
I don't like the Los Angeles Lakers, but I like Doncic, so it'll be pretty interesting to watch Lakers games from now on.
I think they'll have a pretty good chance of winning the championship with this roster.

 

[BillyR23]

I understand the out of shape argument and totally agree with it... I still think this can be fixed 'easily' and especially now that he'll have King James to maybe mentor him for some time(probably the best athlete in all sports that can give advices on how to take care of your body to avoid injuries and prolong your sports career)... The thing I can't understand the most is: if you don't want Luka anymore, why talk to only one team and not try to get the max possible for such an insanely good player?

PS. @john_entony do you think the Lakers season is over? This move seems for the future... Or maybe the Lakers will somehow get a decent center... The team looked really good lately- with decent chances to push even for title... and I'm curious what LeBron thinks about this... Any chance he'll request a trade maybe to the warriors?

 

[john_entony]

I understand the out of shape argument and totally agree with it... I still think this can be fixed 'easily' and especially now that he'll have King James to maybe mentor him for some time(probably the best athlete in all sports that can give advices on how to take care of your body to avoid injuries and prolong your sports career)... The thing I can't understand the most is: if you don't want Luka anymore, why talk to only one team and not try to get the max possible for such an insanely good player?

PS. @john_entony do you think the Lakers season is over? This move seems for the future... Or maybe the Lakers will somehow get a decent center... The team looked really good lately- with decent chances to push even for title... and I'm curious what LeBron thinks about this... Any chance he'll request a trade maybe to the warriors?

No, this season isn't over for the Lakers, that's 100%. Since Luka Doncic's move improved Los Angeles' chances of winning the Postseason. You can see that in the betting odds. The trade deadline is in a few days and the Lakers only need to sign someone from the center position. Of course, I would like Nikola Jokic or at least Bam Adebayo. But most likely it will be someone from the trio of Jonas Valanciunas, Walker Kessler or Jakob Poeltl.

 

[seiya1989]

Doncic should strive to learn to defend even a little bit, although he is a great scorer in defense, he doesn't stop anyone

 

[dreamer13]

Doncic's move continues the Lakers' tradition of bringing in basketball legends.Everyone claimed that Luka was untouchable and would never be traded. The NBA debunks myths again.Doncic will lose $115 million due to the change of club.The key risk for the Lakers in this deal is Luka Doncic's status as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. This scenario would give the Slovenian guard complete freedom to choose a new team, depriving the Los Angeles club of any leverage over his decision.

 

[rei signo]

He plays a lot, he is the gift of basketball! Lakkers got "the gift."

 

[john_entony]

Doncic's move continues the Lakers' tradition of bringing in basketball legends.Everyone claimed that Luka was untouchable and would never be traded. The NBA debunks myths again.Doncic will lose $115 million due to the change of club.The key risk for the Lakers in this deal is Luka Doncic's status as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. This scenario would give the Slovenian guard complete freedom to choose a new team, depriving the Los Angeles club of any leverage over his decision.

That's right, Luka Doncic has this and next season guaranteed and then he'll have a player option. But Los Angeles (as well as New York) are two of the biggest markets in the NBA! Players aspire to play in teams from these cities. So the likelihood that Luka Doncic will not sign a new contract with the Lakers in future is very low.

 

[john_entony]

Doncic should strive to learn to defend even a little bit, although he is a great scorer in defense, he doesn't stop anyone

Luka Doncic has an average 2 steals per game this season. For example, we all know Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a very good defensive player. He is also has an average 2 steals per game this season. I call it the “Russell Westbrook three point shot phenomenon”. There was a time when Russell Westbrook played for the Lakers, and a lot of fans didn't like the fact that he wasn't hitting three-point shots, and because of that he got a lot of critique. But Steph Curry's three-point shot realization was even lower in the same time frame in that season. So I can't say that Luka Doncic is a bad defender. We simply demand too much from such a talented player.

 

[theoxy]

Thats was crazy move ! Now Lakers are much stronger team and can win a title . Lebron and Doncic craaazy .

 

[theStarfish]

Like many of us I was shocked and could not believe this really happened...but I am also excited to see how both Teams will perform now...but still, Luka getting traded is not something I expected to happen...

 

[Alex Houngan]

Thats was crazy move ! Now Lakers are much stronger team and can win a title . Lebron and Doncic craaazy .

yes, but Luka Doncic is plagued by injuries

 

[Stringy]

i still don't understand why this trade happened but lakers win all day with Luka

 

[john_entony]

yes, but Luka Doncic is plagued by injuries

So far yes, Luka Doncic has missed 28 games so far this season. It is known that in the last 6 years, the maximum number of games missed by Slovenian in the one season was 21. Luka Doncic will also miss at least 2 upcoming games against Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. So yes, the Slovenian obviously has injury problems this season.

 

[john_entony]

i still don't understand why this trade happened but lakers win all day with Luka

Most likely, Dallas' new owners decided not to sign Luka Doncic to a new contract to avoid paying the luxury tax. The other question is why Dallas didn't inform the rest of the League that Luka Doncic was available for a trade. Perhaps Dallas only needed either Anthony Davis or Giannis Antetokounmpo (a star power forward with defense).

 

[Urameshi]

pretty sure Mark Cuban lost a bet

 

[Vallet]

NBA should conduct an investigation into this exchange. I'm sure it's not simple, it's the fault of the new managers. Luca is the face of the Dallas Mavericks franchise after Dirk Nowitzki's departure.

 

[mrfastflow]

This is the most shocking and big trade in history the fact is that Luca has not played at the mvp level this season like he did last season the second fact is that after 1/3 of the season he has missed so many games that he would not even be classified as an mvp candidate the third fact is that Dallas have won without Luca and also lost when he played and their place in the table is below 6 so they were not even in the playoffs and the Lakers are in top 6

Of course Luca is an special and outstanding player and still young but he is not as young as Anthony Davis is old the most underrated in this whole story is in my opinion Kyrie Irving who was for Lebron and last year for Luca someone much bigger than Scottie Pippen was for Michael Jordan

 

[john_entony]

NBA should conduct an investigation into this exchange. I'm sure it's not simple, it's the fault of the new managers. Luca is the face of the Dallas Mavericks franchise after Dirk Nowitzki's departure.

The League has already approved this trade. What investigation? Did Rob Pelinka hold Scott Harrison's family hostage? I just don't understand what investigation the League has to do. Or maybe it was Dirk Nowitzki who made this trade and not Scott Harrison? Actually, Dallas didn't want to give Luka Doncic a super max contract to avoid paying the luxury tax. The NBA isn't just a show, it's also a business!

 

[john_entony]

but he is not as young as Anthony Davis is old

I don't know what you mean? Okay, I realize LeBron James is not young, but Anthony Davis is only 32 years old. He'll play his entire current contract in Dallas in his prime.

 

[mrfastflow]

I don't know what you mean? Okay, I realize LeBron James is not young, but Anthony Davis is only 32 years old. He'll play his entire current contract in Dallas in his prime.

That's exactly what I wrote and I agree with you but I'm sure you've seen many people say that Luca is young and Anthony is old, of course playing as a center required more mass from him and injuries started but he may still have many years of play ahead of him i mean He is not that old and Luca is not that young like people saying

 

[gillbates21]

Speculators are going wild with different theories