NBA Trades: The Los Angeles Lakers acquire Luka Doncic in what will be remembered as the most surprising blockbuster trade in NBA history.
In what will likely be described as arguably the most surprising moves in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks worked out a blockbuster move overnight at the dawn of the NBA Trade Deadline week. In a multi-team deal, the Lakers sent out Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and their 2029 first-round picks to the Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris. The Utah Jazz helped get the deal done by taking on Jalen Hood-Schifino and were awarded two second-round picks for doing so.
Considering almost every news reporter in the NBA was taken by surprise, there's no question that this is just the tip of the iceberg for both the Lakers and the Mavs. Eventually, the entire story is going to come out but from what we know now, it's the Mavs that approached the Lakers about the possibility of such a deal. Read into that as you will. I'd imagine the next few days should be quite interesting for both the Mavs and Lakers.
Which team is the real winner?
Until we know the true reason why the Mavs were so willing to move on from Luka, it's hard to break down this deal. In theory, you'd have to imagine the Lakers are going to emerge as the early winners considering they just traded a 31-year-old often injured big man for a superstar wing with face-of-the-NBA potential. But, again, without knowing the entire story, it's hard to truly understand this deal.
Either way, it does appear as if the Lakers have landed their new face of the franchise. Where that leaves LeBron James remains to be seen as he's not generally viewed as a great fit next to Luka. On that front, the next few days should tell us all we need to know about his future in Los Angeles. He does have a no-trade clause so the Lakers can't unwillingly move him ahead of the trade deadline.
This move, from the Lakers' perspective, was clearly about the future. For the Mavs, who knows what this move was truly about? On paper, the trio of Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and AD will be a strong core heading into the final stretch run of the postseason. However, you can't help but wonder if there's another move the Mavs may have up their sleeve heading into trade deadline week.
It's hard to completely break down this deal without knowing everything that may be happening behind the scenes. One thing that we do know for certainty is that this deal has certainly sent shockwaves across the league.