Is Luka for AD the most shocking trade of all time

[UK Cowboy]

I don't see Kyrie going anywhere after this. I'm sure they're telling him 'you're the man' and 'we got AD for you' right now. At the end of the day Kyrie is still Kyrie and AD is still AD and having them together makes a lot of sense as far as running the offense vs two guys who are subtraction by addition. But the Lakers get what they always want which is a superstar to be the face of the franchise. I'd say it's stupid but you've guys won a vault full of trophies with that model. But this guy needs work. I think he's awesome but I don't think he's much better at 25 than he was at like 17. Too bad that there isn't a guy like Jerry West to set him straight for the Lakers to throw at him.

Nobody is going to "set Luka straight", not LBJ, a real life Jerry West or Santa Claus. You have to have leverage to set someone straight, and under any scenario Luka could say go F yourself. I think you get the flies to come with honey. Luka is in LA now, home of Magic Johnson, Kobe, Shaq, KAJ and a ton of others. Image, advertising dollars, LA lifestyle, a chance to be the face of the entire NBA, thats the way to go. For all the excuses now we are heading about his effort and his gut...ok, if you can average near a 30/10/10 triple double when you're fat and lazy, what the Hell are you when you are in shape and motivated? No one has more talent

 

[tc1]

I can't think of a more shocking trade than this one. It doesn't make sense. I mean the Lakers aren't better after it given the fact that they obviously have the SF slot covered before the trade.

One has to remember that the Lakers are still a family business, unlike the vast majority of NBA and professional teams. The Buss family are not billionaires, until and unless they sell the franchise. So they have to make financial decisions that other teams don't -- and this deal gives them a marketable superstar for as many years as they can manage to keep him, and that's a valuable asset, even if it doesn't win them more games.

So, much like when they acquired LeBron James, they are just checking off a box and will figure out if and how to build a winning team later. In the meantime, they will sell a billion jerseys, and so forth.

All that said, almost no one in this trade can pass a physical today, and no Laker trade is ever final until the respective players don their new uniforms ( as we discovered 13 years ago ), so we shouldn't get too excited over this trade tonight.

Finally, this might not be the most shocking trade in Laker history -- although far fewer people cared when they managed to shock basketball by trading for easily the best player in the world, in 1975.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

@Black Adam

Any thoughts on the trade?

 

[gohuskresurrected]

Weirdest thing about this trade is that the Lakers are 8-2 out of their last 10. Basically a no confidence vote for Bron as far as the Lakers FO goes. But the big loser in this one is Bronny because I don't see a future with the Lakers for him anymore.

 

[tlance]

If the Mavs GM is really concerned about Luka’s poor conditioning and his bad knees then I understand trying to get something back if Luka isn’t the answer.

Yeah. This is about the only thing that would make sense. Dallas knows something that we don’t.

I said it on the other thread, but I have to think another big deal is coming. Neither roster really makes sense now as the Lakers were built around LeBron and AD, and Dallas around Luka and Kyrie.

 

[tlance]

Weirdest thing about this trade is that the Lakers are 8-2 out of their last 10. Basically a no confidence vote for Bron as far as the Lakers FO goes. But the big loser in this one is Bronny because I don't see a future with the Lakers for him anymore.

Bronny going to be just fine.

He is a fringe NBA talent anyway. Getting a shot because of his DNA.

 

[tc1]

For all the excuses now we are heading about his effort and his gut...ok, if you can average near a 30/10/10 triple double when you're fat and lazy, what the Hell are you when you are in shape and motivated? No one has more talent

I agree with most of what you wrote. The difference for Doncic will be that he now plays for a franchise that doesn't really care if he averages 28/9/9. It cares if he wins rings. That is the expectation for the Lakers, who average a title every 2.5 seasons. Dallas loved him for making the playoffs.

In other words, Doncic now plays for a team where, were he to average 28/9/9 for the next decade, and retire ringless, he will not even crack the top 10 players in team history. If that matters to him, he will do something about it. If not, he can buy a very lovely beachfront house, and happily be mistaken for a beached marine mammal for the rest of his days.

 

[gohuskresurrected]

Yeah. This is about the only thing that would make sense. Dallas knows something that we don’t.

I said it on the other thread, but I have to think another big deal is coming. Neither roster really makes sense now as the Lakers were built around LeBron and AD, and Dallas around Luka and Kyrie.

Mavs get better with this move. There was subtraction by addition with Irving and Luka. Davis is a legit PF that doesn't need to dominate the ball to get his. I don't think this makes them contenders but we get to see what Kyrie can do with a pretty good supporting cast.

 

[gohuskresurrected]

This is the weirdest intervention of all time. "Hey Luka, I know you think your gods gif and you got us to the finals last season but we just can't stand the sight of you anymore because you're a douchebag. Your punishment is being sent to the marque team in the league where your endorsement deals are going to skyrocket."

 

[tc1]

Mavs get better with this move.

Even Dallas doesn't agree with your first statement.

The rest of the trade, apart from the two big names, is Max Christie -- an extremely young and solid wing on an excellent contract -- and a 1st round pick for two negative assets.

The respective value of Doncic set by this trade is much higher than that of Davis.

Also, a whole bunch of Dallas' players have been living off lobs from Doncic, not to mention the attention he attracts. Davis won't be doing that. I don't particularly like Doncic's game, or this trade, but the Lakers ( for example ) now have 3 guys who average far more assists than Irving ( who leads Dallas ) does, and the Lakers traded away a fourth a few weeks ago. Dallas may have some issues on offense now.

 

[gohuskresurrected]

Even Dallas doesn't agree with your first statement.

The rest of the trade, apart from the two big names, is Max Christie -- an extremely young and solid wing on an excellent contract -- and a 1st round pick for two negative assets.

The respective value of Doncic set by this trade is much higher than that of Davis.

Also, a whole bunch of Dallas' players have been living off lobs from Doncic, not to mention the attention he attracts. Davis won't be doing that. I don't particularly like Doncic's game, or this trade, but the Lakers ( for example ) now have 3 guys who average far more assists than Irving ( who leads Dallas ) does, and the Lakers traded away a fourth a few weeks ago. Dallas may have some issues on offense now.

'Attention he attracts'????? The guy's a generational talent, just took the team to the finals, and they traded him. I think that says a lot about the attention he attracts and it obviously isn't good. AD and Kyrie healthy work together a lot better than Luka and Kyrie do because there's overlap. But the only way this trade makes sense is if Luka has basically become a cancer to the org.

 

[tlance]

Mavs get better with this move. There was subtraction by addition with Irving and Luka. Davis is a legit PF that doesn't need to dominate the ball to get his. I don't think this makes them contenders but we get to see what Kyrie can do with a pretty good supporting cast.

I don’t think either team got better.

Yet.

Have to see what else they do.

Only way this makes sense to me from Dallas point of view is they were worried about Luka’s health or assuming they couldn’t keep him beyond next year.

For LA?

They got the best player in the deal. But have a lot of work to do with the roster. I will grade it as incomplete until we see what the next week brings.

 

[jontaejones]

I agree with most of what you wrote. The difference for Doncic will be that he now plays for a franchise that doesn't really care if he averages 28/9/9. It cares if he wins rings. That is the expectation for the Lakers, who average a title every 2.5 seasons. Dallas loved him for making the playoffs.

In other words, Doncic now plays for a team where, were he to average 28/9/9 for the next decade, and retire ringless, he will not even crack the top 10 players in team history. If that matters to him, he will do something about it. If not, he can buy a very lovely beachfront house, and happily be mistaken for a beached marine mammal for the rest of his days.

The Lakers are always able to attract talent for nothing, and now with Luka it's even more so the case, so ... he doesn't have to be peak Luka in the right year for them to win like he would on the Mavs

 

[gohuskresurrected]

Only thing more shocking personally that I would compare it to is Charles Haley to the Cowboys. That one from the outside came out of nowhere but after the fact when all the stuff from behind the scenes came out much later you can see why it happened.

 

[tc1]

The Lakers are always able to attract talent for nothing, and now with Luka it's even more so the case, so ... he doesn't have to be peak Luka in the right year for them to win like he would on the Mavs

I already explained the concept that the Lakers win because they draft better than anyone to you in the other thread. It is not necessary for me to educate you in two threads simultaneously.

Or, take a shot at answering the quiz which you declined. Which Laker free-agent signing won the second-most titles in Purple-and-Gold?

Here's a hint, he doesn't even really count as a free-agent signing in the current parlance.

 

[tc1]

'Attention he attracts'?????

Read the comment again, slowly, perhaps you will understand it.

 

[Black Adam]

@Black Adam

Any thoughts on the trade?

I'll be honest. This is the first I'm hearing about it. And wow...

 

[Black Adam]

Luka must be absolutely toxic in the locker room. I mean there's no other explanation for this beyond that. Sounds like the Lakers are looking to move forward beyond LeBron because this certainly doesn't make them better.

Definitely know the guy's a bit of a diva...

It'll be interesting for sure...

 

[DJ Fieri]

Superstars in their prime don’t get traded unless they are asking their way out.

This has all been covered by insiders.....the Mavs didn't trust his conditoning.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I already explained the concept that the Lakers win because they draft better than anyone to you in the other thread. It is not necessary for me to educate you in two threads simultaneously.

Or, take a shot at answering the quiz which you declined. Which Laker free-agent signing won the second-most titles in Purple-and-Gold?

Here's a hint, he doesn't even really count as a free-agent signing in the current parlance.

How many of the long list of Lakers superstars over the decades were drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers? I think that was always the point.