It was virtually impossible not to react to the Los Angeles Lakers’ blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic.
Considering no one saw the deal coming, it’s acceptable to state that ESPN’s Shams Charania’s groundbreaking tweet regarding the transaction (Max Christie, Anthony Davis, and a 2029 first-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks for Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris) surprised everyone.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown may have had the best reaction, stating that it 'might be one of the worst trades of all time' during a sneak peek of Netflix's new season of The Starting 5.
Is Brown’s opinion valid? Well, if you look at the trade from the Dallas Mavericks’ perspective, absolutely.
Doncic was the Mavericks’ franchise point guard and showed he could lead Dallas to the NBA finals as a No. 1 scoring option/playmaker, making the organization’s decision to send him packing puzzling.
The Lakers, on the other hand, unquestionably improved after they completed the early February trade. Although Davis is a capable two-way big man with a championship on his resume, he was the most injury-prone contributor on Los Angeles’ roster.
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Trading the Kentucky product to the Mavericks not only allowed them to move on from a player who struggled to remain healthy, but also helped them fix their glaring point guard issue with the acquisition of Doncic (who averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 28 contests with the Lakers last year).
While it took them longer than expected, Los Angeles successfully replaced Davis in free agency, signing Deandre Ayton to bolster its weakened frontcourt.
The Lakers clearly knew what they were doing when they swapped Davis for Doncic four days before the trade deadline, but the same can’t be said about the Mavericks.
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