Luka & AD Trade

I woke up on Sunday, February 2nd, to multiple text messages. As I am still more asleep than awake I keep seeing faded words saying “Luka”, “Lakers”, “Anthony Davis”, and “Mavericks”. Then my brain-rotted self mindlessly opens Instagram, still half asleep. Once I saw the several posts of Luka Doncic with a yellow Lakers jersey on I finally got the memo. Luka Doncic got traded? For who? For Anthony Davis? Goodness gracious. Then I started reading that Luka had no idea. He did not want to be traded! Luka Doncic is 25 years old, and he is already comfortably a top 5 player in the league. How does a GM have the audacity to trade him for a nearly 32 year old Anthony Davis? Not to discredit AD, but he is simply not as good, 7 years older, and has a history of being injury prone. You know it’s crazy if even LeBron did not know about it. This was completely under the radar.

Now that my initial emotions are out, allow me to delve into the realistic situations that this trade puts both teams in. Starting with the Lakers, I believe that they won this trade. Although at this moment the Lakers have Jaxson Hayes as their best center, which is very below average, I could see them making another move to secure a defensive center. If they can do this, then their starting five would be one of the best in the league. Luka at the point would take a lot of pressure off of a 40 year old LeBron James to run the team’s offense. Austin Reaves can shine as a spark of offense. Rui Hachimura has proved himself to be a great perimeter shooter. The clear hole in the team is their lack of defense. A move needs to be made if they want to beat a more well rounded team like the OKC Thunder. The question is, with no other changes made, are the Lakers more likely to win a championship before or after this trade? Yes, Luka is better than Anthony Davis, but the team’s defense is not just average, now, it is abysmal. Honestly, I would say that unless another trade happens for a defensive center, at least, the Lakers did not get much better. However, the reason the Lakers clearly won the trade is the fact that Luka is 25 years old. He will outlast LeBron final seasons, as well as Anthony Davis’s. The Lakers are set for the next 10 years.

The general manager for the Mavericks said that “defense wins championships” and that this trade helps them win now and the future. Yes, I get it, Luka is not a great defender. He is not even an average defender. But when you have a player as great as Luka Doncic, you work around his defensive weaknesses. And you did! Last year, when the Mavericks won the western conference, they had the seventh best defense in the league. That is pretty dang good. At the trade deadline they traded for PJ Washington who is a great defender. They have Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, who are both great shot blockers. Basically, the team already had made up for Luka’s defensive shortcomings. With that said, the Mavericks did in fact get better defensively. Also, Anthony Davis will finally be able to play at his preferred position: power forward. Now, to answer the question on whether the Mavericks are more likely to win a championship before or after the trade, I would say yes. They have Kyrie Irving who is absolutely capable of taking control of the offense. Klay Thompson, a great shooter who can spread the floor for Anthony Davis. Gafford and Lively can alternate at center to let Davis play the power forward position. Not to mention players like Grimes, Washington, and Dinwiddie who can elevate the second unit. This team is structured nearly perfectly. However, I am still saying that they lost the trade simply because they traded Luka Doncic who will be the face of the league for the next 10 years. There is no trade that can make up for that.