Analyzing the Luka-AD Trade

Quinn Campbell

It has been three full days since arguably the biggest and most unpredictable trade in NBA history. When Shams Charania sent out the tweet saying that the Mavs and Lakers swapped superstars Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, most fans (myself included) thought that either they were dreaming or Shams' phone was hacked. Now that we have had some time to let the trade ruminate in our minds, we can anaylyze the motivations for both teams and how the deal will impact the NBA landscape for years to come. Let's start with the Dallas Mavericks. General manager Nico Harrison has been under a lot of skepticism in recent days for obvious reasons. NBA franchises don't just trade their superstar player(who is in his prime), very often, if ever. However, Harrison has been very admant that this trade will help the Mavericks be better suited to win NBA championships now and in the coming years. I disagree with this statement immensely. First of all, you trade your 25 year old superstar who just took you to an NBA finals appearance last season, for a 31 year old Anthony Davis who has been injury prone his entire career. I do realize that when healthy, AD is a top 10 player in the league and he has been extremely dominant this season, when healthy. However, the Mavs already have 2 very capable big men in Derick Lively and Daniel Gafford. AD has openly said that he wants to play the Power Forward position as opposed to being forced to play Center so far this season on the Lakers. He will get that opportunity now because he actually has a capable big to pair alongside him which he didn't in LA. I think that the Mavs have a very good starting lineup, with Kyrie, Klay, and PJ Washington, along with AD and either Gafford or Lively. However, Kyrie, Klay and AD are all on the backends of their career. Will they have what it takes to defeat the Nuggets or Thunder? I don't think so, but maybe they'll prove me wrong.

Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis, via Clutch Points

The Lakers, on the other hand, have set themselves up for success now and the next decade assuming Luka keeps signing extensions to stay in LA. Arguably the best player in the NBA when at his best, he should take the pressure off of 40 year old Lebron to carry the team most nights. The best part is that Luka is just reaching his prime at 25 years old and has the rest of his career left to bring home championships for the Lakers. I personally think that the addition of Luka will motivate Lebron to play one or two more seasons because now he doesn't have to play heavy minutes every night in order for the Lakers to win. He could load manage for the first time in his career and the opportunity to compete for championships with Luka for a couple of years is too much to pass up. I do think that the Lakers will trade for a big man before the deadline closes on Thursday. Some notable targets would be Miles Turner, Mark Williams, and Jonas Valuncunas. I think any of those additions would be enough to make the Lakers legit contenders this year, considering how well Reaves has been playing. A starting 5 of Luka, Reaves, Lebron, Dorian Finney-Smith or Vanderbilt for defense, and any of the centers I believe they will trade for is one of the most stacked starting groups in the NBA. The key will be how healthy Lebron and Luka can stay throughout the rest of this season. Without either of them being 100% during the playoffs, I think it is unlikely they can come out of the loaded Western Conference.