Let’s grade the Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis blockbuster trade for all sides.
The most mind-blowing trade in NBA history caught literally everyone involved off-guard, and still has the wider basketball world picking up the pieces at what just went down.
Luka Doncic is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Anthony Davis has joined the Dallas Mavericks next to Kyrie Irving. The Utah Jazz got involved as a third team to help facilitate the deal. When ESPN insider Shams Charania first reported the trade, everyone assumed he was hacked.
The Mavericks leaked why they wanted to trade Doncic in the aftermath of the initial reports. Dallas offered Doncic to at least one other team, according to The Athletic, and were rejected. The Lakers somehow just landed one of the best players in the NBA before he turns 26 years old. LA has the future face of the franchise in place for a post-LeBron James world.
A deal this wild requires immediate grades for every side. Let’s get into it.
Lakers grade for Luka Doncic trade
This trade is such a no-brainer for the Lakers. Players as good and as young as Luka Doncic do not get traded unless they force their way to a new home. Doncic reportedly did not request a trade, and seems to be as shocked as everyone else is by the news.
The player with the most trade value in the NBA is clearly Victor Wembanyama. After the 21-year-old Spurs star, the next two names on the list would be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic. The fact that the Lakers landed Doncic while only giving up one future first-round pick is just unbelievable.
It’s important to remember that this trade is more about the Lakers’ future than their present. LA currently sits in the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference at 28-19 overall, but they have actually been outscored by their opponents this season with a negative point-differential. No one thought the Lakers were a real contender this season. They had a hole in the front court even without Davis on the roster that gets even bigger now. Given Doncic’s calf injury, it’s possible the Lakers actually fall down the standings after making a trade everyone will praise.
There’s some serious skill overlap between Doncic and James. Will James even finish the season on the Lakers? He could now be moved before the Feb. 6 trade deadline as well. The Lakers’ starting center is now Jaxson Hayes. His backups are Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison. It’s hard to imagine LA going on a run this year unless they trade for another center later this week, and even if that’s likely, it will be hard to find a real difference-maker. Christie had also developed into a solid wing for the Lakers, and will be a loss for the rotation.
None of that really matters right now. With Doncic, the Lakers have one of the best on-ball creators in the world at 25 years old. Doncic is fully capable of being the best player on a championship team for the next five-to-eight years. There isn’t a player in the NBA better at creating offense with the ball in his hands than Doncic. He averages 28.6 points, 8.3 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game with 58.8 percent true shooting for his career. He’s one of the defining players of this generation, and now he’s a Laker.
Los Angeles has plenty of time to build a contending team around Luka’s singular talents. Just getting him on the roster, while only giving up one first-round pick, is one of the great heists in NBA history.
Lakers grade: A+
Mavs grade for Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap
The Mavericks already explained their reasoning for why they wanted to trade Doncic. Dallas essentially said it didn’t trust Doncic conditioning and injury history while being skeptical that he’d be worth the $345 million supermax deal he was up for this summer. The Mavs also ducked the luxury tax this season with the trade. Woo hoo.
If Doncic isn’t worth the supermax, no one is. He’s a 25-year-old with five First-Team All-NBA nods. You don’t trade a player like that for anything, especially not for an injury-prone big man who is six years older while only getting back one first-round pick.
If the Mavs really wanted to trade Doncic, they should have commanded a package that got them back four or five first-rounders. It’s wild that Dallas couldn’t even get the other first-round pick the Lakers had available to trade in 2031 in this deal.
There will be temptation to give the Mavericks an F for this trade, but I’m not there. Davis is a top-10 player in the league who maintains whatever championship equity Dallas had this season. A front court of Davis and Dereck Lively II is going to be insanely long and athletic. Harrison said he made this trade because “defense wins championships,” and while I think that’s faulty logic, there’s no doubt this deal improves Dallas’ defense significantly.
Dallas seemingly made this move because they believe it helps them win now. Kyrie Irving is now going to have a massive creation burden on his hands. Dallas just doesn’t have many wings left to fill out lineups, either, though getting Christie back does help there. Will Dallas play PJ Washington at the three now? Will they trade him for more perimeter help? This trade creates more questions than it solves for the Mavericks.
Dallas has to win an NBA championship with Davis or this deal is a huge disaster. There’s some chance that happens, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the heavy favorite in the Western Conference this season. Davis did give OKC’s Chet Holmgren fits last year, but teammate Isaiah Hartenstein is exactly the type of big who gives AD trouble. This doesn’t even touch on Davis’ own injury issues, which seem to pop up every year.
It’s true that Dallas’ knows Doncic body and mentality better than anyone. They basically called him an out of shape loser who doesn’t play defense upon trading him. Just don’t forget he’s carried the team to the NBA Finals and Western Conference Finals before turning 26 years old. This is just a wild trade for Dallas side, and not in a good way.
Mavericks grade: D+
Jazz grade for the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade
The Jazz got involved in this trade to take on Jalen Hood-Schifino’s salary and picked up two second round picks for their trouble. Perfect Danny Ainge move. No notes.
Jazz trade grade: A
