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In a trade that shocked the NBA world from players, coaches, executives and fans, franchise pillar superstar Luka Doncic has been traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers primarily for ten-time NBA All-Star big man Anthony Davis.
Davis is not nothing and this is no indictment on him. Ten time All-Star, four time NBA first team, three time NBA All-Defensive team, NBA 75th anniversary team. Acknowledge it or not, 2020 NBA bubble champion. No brainer, first ballot Hall of Fame and still going at age 31 for the first overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft.
Davis and the Mavericks short term will be a threat in the Western Conference.
BUT..….Luka Doncic is a generational next level talent who will set the Lakers up for the next 10 plus years as a face of the franchise on and off the court. There are tiers of talent in sports. The Hall of Fame Anthony Davis types and the elite of the elite next floor up franchise builders. That’s Luka. You only have to use his first name, Luka that’s how good he is, a rare first namer in sports or entertainment. He may have the Patrick Mahomes dad bod, he may flop like a fish out of water, he has a whiny face, his defense optional. But a month in LA where Luka Magic trades Texas barbecue for a trendy salad, texts Klay Thompson about the powers of the ocean, dips his toes in the sand, absorbs some vitamin D, mixes in a kale shake and double seven will be a refined machine looking to prove doubters wrong. He’s this good now, top three in the league, maybe the best when he’s on, which is often. He’s 25, he’s going to be better in LA.
I don’t know how the Lakers keep finding suckers through the years to deal with. Wilt Chamberlain from the 76ers to the Lakers in 1968, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Milwaukee to LA 1975, Kobe draft day deal with the Hornets 1996, Anthony Davis flies the Pelicans coop in 2019. Now it’s the Los Angeles Luka’s in 2025. The Lakers always seems to find those desperate teams lacking in foresight so they can continue to dominate and keep the hard to impress Hollywood court siders paying exorbitant prices to see superstars in purple and gold run up and down the court.
Keep in mind, this isn’t long time Mavs owner Mark Cuban passing off on this deal, this is the ultra rich Miriam Adelson from the Adelson family in Las Vegas who now owns the Dallas Mavericks. She may be worth $32 billion, but she’s new in these NBA circles, having bought about 75% of the team from Cuban just over a year ago. The tech billionaire is still around as part of basketball operations but he doesn’t have final say. Adelson doesn’t get it. She was just fleeced long term. She doesn’t realize what this does to the Dallas market which is married long term and happily to football at all levels in Texas and occasionally dabbles in hoops if a Dirk or Luka is around. She doesn’t realize the seismic shift she just authored over the next 10 plus years in the league. Cuban would not have okay’d this deal, especially to the Lakers. It pisses the rest of us off, why can’t our teams be that lucky? Why can’t we consistently find tipsy owners and General Managers who answer the phone while drinking? That sound you hear is Stephen Curry crying in the corner.
Also, word in the league is the Mavs never shopped Luka to the rest of the NBA to set up a massive and lucrative bidding war. Business 101, create leverage, take the best deal if you were so hell bent on moving Luka Doncic. The bids may or may not have included a single player as good as Anthony Davis, but a combination of players and picks better than what Dallas received would have been likely. At the very least, you had potential enticing options but not in the one team trade scenario they created to help aid the Lakers to ultimate relevance once again.
It’s not that the Mavericks won’t be competitive with Davis and perpetual side kick Kyrie Irving in the short term, this is about understanding how hard, almost impossible it is to find a true face of the franchise in the NBA. Right now there are only a few. Many get paid like it, many try to act like it, but reality is to find it all in one player is rare. Scarce is Batman, many are Robin. A player who can carry the burden every night on and off the floor. The unquestioned consistent shiny diamond on the court fans flock to see home or away. Score 30, grab 10, dish 12. Explain after the tough loss why the burden is on you without dissing your less talented teammates, stay off the social media beef list, impress corporate sponsors, crush the endorsements, avoid the traps, win titles, shake hands and kiss babies all over the world in the offseason, all with an easy billion dollar smile on your face. Not easy.
It’s a small “A” list:
- LeBron James: What he’s doing at At 40 is unprecedented in NBA history, but he needed to pass the torch and Mavs obliged.
- Steph Curry: Long time unquestioned number one, but in age 37 season, he needs a Batman and he’s better served as a Robin. Is there another team asleep at the switch out there who can help? Not likely.
- Nikola Jokic: (29) Best player in the game, a bigger Luka, has a title.
- Kevin Durant: (36) Alpha on any team, but needs more help at this point.
- Giannis Anteokounmpo: (30) Multi-time MVP, NBA champion, clear Bucks leader.
- Luka Doncic: (25) Led Mavericks to NBA Finals last season without the talent to match. Hard to believe he’s 25 and has another level if he gets in top shape.
A Tick below (A-) :
Jayson Tatum: Has the title now, but many believe Jaylen Brown is the better all around player.
Could be someday:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: (26) Really good, no playoff success. Haven’t seen the “it’ yet on and off the court.
- Victor Wembanyama: (21) All the tool are there, has to win big and lead.
- Anthony Edwards: (23) Very good, hasn’t won anything, questionable off the court sometimes as a true leader.
- Donovan Mitchell: (28) Really good on two solid teams in career, hasn’t taken that next step or two.
Close but never was:
- Devin Booker: (28) Always Robin, now to Durant’s Batman.
- Kyrie Irving: (32) Been a very good #2 type.
- Damian Lillard: (34) Not anymore, if he ever was.
This distinctive role assures you will always be in the conversation. On the court, off the court, with television or whatever platforms the NBA will be on executives. Your team will play on national TV on opening night, you’ll play on Christmas, other players want to play with and for you. That’s what the Mavericks just traded away, real NBA relevancy for the foreseeable future. These unique players come along in the draft maybe once a decade. They are rarely if ever available on the trade market which is why everyone in the NBA world is losing their minds. You don’t trade away a 25 year-old superstar who still hasn’t yet reached his prime team pillars who check all the boxes, but the Dallas Mavericks just did. So unless you’re wearing purple and gold sunglasses watching the sunset in Manhattan Beach, with your new Luka white home #77 jersey on blaring “I Love LA” with the top down dreaming of Luka to LeBron alley-oops and 80 national games a year, we’ll all suffer for years because of it.