Lakers trade grade for Luka Doncic deal
Yesterday at 03:13 AM
The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world on Saturday, acquiring superstar Luka Doncic in a massive trade with the Dallas Mavericks. And all it cost the Lakers was Anthony Davis who is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and arguably the Lakers' best player this season.
To say this trade was a blockbuster is an understatement. To say it was surprising is an understatement. This trade between the Mavericks and the Lakers is arguably the biggest deal in the last 15-20 years.
Currently, both Doncic and Davis are out due to injury. Davis recently left the Lakers' road trip due to a shoulder injury and was set to be re-evaluated in one week. Meanwhile, Doncic is still sidelined from a calf injury he suffered back on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So it's still up in the air when either player will make their debut with their new teams. But in the meantime, the here's our trade grade for the Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic in a bombshell trade.
Lakers new superstar in Luka Doncic
The Lakers have always had superstar players throughout their franchise history, seemingly one right after the other. And now they have their new one for the next decade. Because that's exactly why it appears this trade was done, for the Lakers' future.
Doncic is only 25 years old and not yet in the prime of his career. With a contract extension seemingly looming on the horizon, the Lakers have set themselves up nicely for the post-LeBron James years.
Sometimes one of the best things to do is to admit what has become painfully obvious, and that is that this Lakers team was still several pieces away from being a legitimate contender. And with the Lakers reportedly balking at the asking prices for legitimate centersLakers reportedly balking at the asking prices for legitimate centers, a request of Davis, a relatively quiet trade deadline was seemingly on the horizon.
But now, the Lakers have a plan to sell to their fanbase. Once the initial shock and even disappointment of losing Davis wears off, the long-term plan comes into focus. LeBron James isn't going to play forever. He has only one more year left on his contract should he not exercise his player option at the end of the season.
While Davis was being groomed to take over the mantle of franchise star once James retired, the opportunity to get a player the caliber of Doncic was too good to pass up. Doncic is younger than Davis, and just a flat out better player to build around.
That's no disrespect to Davis, who is a future Hall of Fame player in his own right. But Doncic is one of those generational type superstars, and the Lakers would have been foolish to turn down an offer like this, if reports are to be believed that the Mavericks approached them first.
While Doncic has been hampered by injury this season, in the 22 games he has played in, he's been averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals. He's shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 35.4 percent form the three-point line and 76.7 percent from the free-throw line. Davis is a walking double-double, Doncic is a walking triple-double.
Realistically, the Lakers punted on the rest of this season. Doncic has been out for about a month now and is going to have to get acclimated to a new team. The Lakers are also dangerously thin in the frontcourt, even with Jarred Vanderbilt returning to the lineup. This was not a great rebounding team even with Davis.
But as mentioned before, the Luka Doncic trade is all about the future for the Lakers. He is set up to be the face of the franchise for the next several years. All that remains is to see if the front office is capable of putting a contending roster around Doncic. But in the immediacy, this trade earns a high mark for the Lakers. From their perspective, it was a no-brainer.
Final trade grade: A
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