My Take on Saturday's NBA Trade Shocker

On Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks managed to surprise the sports world by sending their franchise star Luka Doncič to the Los Angeles Lakers in a package that primarily involved Anthony Davis. The shock waves caused from the trade were like a sonic boom as it’s rare that two spectacular players at different stages of their career get traded for each other. There were also no rumors of such a move occurring as neither Davis, Doncič, or even Mavericks coach Jason Kidd knew anything until the move was official. While people are still processing the trade, here is where both teams now stand. 

For the Lakers, getting a player like Dončić gives them a lot more direction once LeBron James retires. They’re championship window was still open, but it was slowly closing and with that grew uncertainty about the team’s future. Dončić definitely makes their long term outlook a little more clear. At only 25 years old, Dončić is in the prime of his career with his dazzling ball-handling and clutch shotmaking. He is a regular on the All-NBA first team since 2020, and led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season. 
https://x.com/NBA/status/1794203009490014642 
The Lakers will be getting arguably the best point guard of the league and a guy who’s capable of playing with anyone. This trade also bodes well for LeBron James. The last time he had a point guard of Dončić’s caliber was Kyrie Irving in Cleveland where they won a championship together. 

To get there however, the Lakers now have to find a viable replacement for Davis. This is a player who owned the paint on offense and defense, not to mention a perfect pick and roll partner for James. If Los Angeles was thin up front with Davis, they are now frail without him. The Lakers must restructure their big-man rotation before Thursday but they still have more than enough assets to trade for a big man since not much else outside of Davis was given up. Players such as Walker Kessler, Mitchell Robinson, or Robert Williams wouldn’t fully replicate Davis’s play but they would cover up that need. 

Meanwhile for the Mavericks, they’ve received a lot of understandable criticism for trading Dončić. The biggest takeaway is that they really must be trying to maximize their chances of winning now rather than in the long run. On paper, they have a more balanced roster as of now. Davis gives Dallas a big man who can score multiple ways and protect the rim. If he can stay healthy, the Mavericks will have a potentially dangerous duo with him and Kyrie Irving. In addition, they are surrounded by shooters such as Klay Thompson and their big-man rotation is now one of the deepest in basketball. https://x.com/NBAonTNT/status/1307864617171873794 

That doesn’t exonerate the fact that Dallas is making a massive gamble by trading the face of their franchise a year after making the Finals. This shortens the Mavericks’ championship window. Dallas ideally should’ve sought a lot more in return for the future, whether it was more contributors like Rui Hachimura, or a surplus of draft picks. If they don’t win now, they may have to rebuild sooner since Davis and Irving are both over 30. Finally, this kind of trade could send a negative message to the team. Dončić was the leader of that team and the team’s confidence may now be rattled.

​The only current conclusion from this trade is that it’s clear where both teams believe they stand on their chances of contending. Los Angeles and Dallas basically flipped around their title windows in unprecedented fashion - and time will tell which team made the right decision.