NBA Trade Craziness: Doncic to the Lakers and the Spurs rob the Kings

The Luke-AD trade really is perplexing.  If you don't want to pay Luka the super max extension and would rather trade him, I'm okay with that.  But no way what they got from LA is the best package they could get for a 25 year-old superstar in Luka.  Why not go into the offseason and start a bidding war and not get a massive haul.  Really, why not?  At worst run it back this season.  Doncic will be back from injury this month.  Let the season play out and then get everyone in the league on the same page - we're open for business.  I keep hearing how Dallas was ticked about Doncic's conditioning, but while that isn't petty, it isn't the reason to take less.  It just feels like a knee jerk reaction. 

I do give all sides props for keeping this quiet though.  If word had gotten out, LA and Dallas lose momentum and the whole deal could have been torpedoed.  Not saying it was a good deal.  Just props on not letting anyone know and letting players or agents drive the bus.

I'm not sure this works for the Lakers short term.  They are the #5 seed today, but does this screw up the chemistry?  And they still have no big.  But assuming Luka signs with them long term when he is eligible in the offseason, this is massive.  They have the franchise's long-term star and direction set.  Until now there was no succession plan to LeBron leaving.  Sure, they have to build around Luka still but that's just what you do.  

And somehow Luka is being painted as a victim in all this.  Yes, he'll lose ~$50M because he won't be eligible for the super max contract extension, but he'll be in LA.   He'll make that up in spades with endorsements and LA is the mecca of basketball.  If he doesn't resign with the Lakers, he can take his talents to free agency and go wherever he wants.  This is a huge win for him, period.  

Feeling left out Sacramento then trades De'Aaron Fox for very little in my opinion.  They get Zach Lavine, who Chicago hasn't been able to give away for a year due to his play, injuries and huge contract.  They get some first-round picks but Charlotte's won't convey and will turn into two second rounders.  The Spurs didn't have to give up one of Atlanta's first round picks which are much more valuable than what the actual Spurs pick.  The Timberwolves pick may be the only pick worth something in the long run.  I know Lavine is having a good year, but I can't see him being a difference maker in Sacramento.  

I know folks are in love with the idea of Fox in San Antonio but I'm not sure if it really works as well as everyone wants it to.  That said, the Spurs are in a great spot.  They have time on their hands here.  Wemby is so young that if it doesn't work out, they can move on from him after his contract ends in 2026 or trade him before that.  And Wemby will still just be reaching his prime.  If it does work out, you extend Fox and it's a good thing.  And Wemby would still be in his prime after that contract.  They'll also have flexibility in all this to add a third star if they want to.  The Spurs should be arrested for this deal.  Craziness!

CBS Sports .com does a great job breaking trades.  Hoopsrumors.com is a great site for anything basketball but especially analyzing things from a calmer perspective.

As part of a 3-team trade, traded by the Los Angeles Lakers with Max Christie and a 2029 1st round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Dallas Mavericks; the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers; the Los Angeles Lakers traded Jalen Hood-Schifino and a 2025 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Utah Jazz; the Utah Jazz traded cash and a 2025 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Dallas Mavericks; and the Utah Jazz traded cash to the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles also received a trade exception 2025 2nd-rd pick is LAC own Dallas also received multiple trade exceptions 2025 2nd-rd pick is a right to swap 2029 1st-rd pick is LAL own

 

Spurs get: Fox, Jordan McLaughlin

Kings get: LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 via Hornets, 2027 via Spurs, 2031 via Timberwolves)

Bulls get: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 first-round pick from Spurs

Jerry West Passes Away

Jerry West passed away last week.  While I never saw him play, I'm a big fan and love his game.  He was a baller.  His competitive fire had few peers.  Think MJ.  His game was amazing.  He played defense.  He could shoot, he could score and he could pass.  In the second act of his life became an great executive.  I read his autobiography some years back.  It isn't for every NBA fan but it's a good book.  Jerry West is a true legend of the NBA.  The Logo will be missed.

NBA Conference Finals

 

Conference Finals are here and I'm excited.  Been some fun basketball so far in the playoffs.  Not the matchups we would have put money on but these are fun no matter how we got them.  Personally, I want to see a Denver-Miami Finals.  A Lakers-Heat Finals rematch or even a Lakers-Celtics Finals would be fun too.  But for me I want Jokic and the Nuggets to get there and see Jimmy Butler get another shot at a title.

Wow this one should be fun.  I already gush about Jokic and anyone who watches him play should as well.  This should be a great matchup against Anthony Davis.  Jokic and the Nuggets may have had some second half regular season issues but both have put all that behind them in the playoffs.  This dude is amazing.  I think the Nuggets take this in six games.  Can LA win?  Of course.  I don't discount LeBron and AD but the Nuggets as a whole are a better team.

I love Jimmy Butler and he has carried the Heat in the playoffs especially after Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo went down. Who didn't think the Heat were done for at that point?  Boston is a great team and led by two superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylon Brown.  Maybe they haven't been on every game but they are by far much better than the Heat.  Boston should win this one in five.  Knowing Jimmy Buckets this could go seven for sure and it should be a hard fought series no matter how it ends up.

Los Angeles Lakers Defeat Miami Heat for 2019-2020 Championship

LA Lakers-Miami Heat 4-2: The Lakers were the best team in the league and deserved this championship.  Yes the Bucks had a better record but this was the team we thought would be fighting for the crown come end of the playoffs.  LeBron was amazing during the regular season (led the league in assists) and in the Finals (29/11/8) where he shot 59% overall and 41% from deep.  AD was just as great (25/10/3) on 57% shooting and 42% from deep.  Those two were crazy good.  The Lakers did lose two games thanks to the will of Jimmy Butler but LeBron and AD were too much.  Yes all the roll players are key but when one of those two rested you still had one of the league's best players on the court.  I rooted for Miami but was in awe of how good the Lakers were.  Congratulations to Los Angeles on a well deserved championship.

In the East recent history has shown there are multiple teams who could be there at the end.  Miami made a surprise run to the Finals and gave us the legend of Jimmy Butler who gave his all but it wasn't enough. Still he will always be remembered for his effort against the Lakers.  

 

Great win for the Lakers, LeBron and AD.  Now of course we will naturally look towards the future.  Will AD resign with LA?  Why wouldn't he?  How many more championships can these guys win?  All fun to think about in what will be a short offseason.

David Stern Blocks Chris Paul Trade

NBA Commissioner David Stern blocked the trade that would have sent Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.  The NBA runs the Hornets team after they ran into financial problems and the NBA is committed to keeping a team in New Orleans and feared losing the star of the team when they are trying to build the franchise up.  The trade itself was a good one. New Orleans would have received Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, Lamar Odom and a 2012 first-round pick.  Now none of the teams involved have anything to show for their hard work and David Stern looks as though he caved to pressure from owners to stop the trade.

I get that the the league doesn't want the rich getting richer (LA Lakers) as small market teams contiue to struggle to keep their own.  This is even more important as the new collective bargaining agreement was thought to help the small market teams keep their stars.  This could be seen as a slap in the face of everything the league fought for.  True or not the perception now is that NBA owners pressured Stern into making a move.  True or not perception will probably not change and this'll be a blot on his tenure as commissioner. 

If this had been a bad trade I'd say this would have been a bad deal and the NBA did the right thing.  As is, it was a good deal for New Orleans and would have helped the franchise rebuild.  Now they must pursue other trades and there is a good chance they might not get as good a deal.  I will always champion the cause of the small market teams in any sport.  If for no other reason the fans deserve a reason to be excited about the chances of their team. 

But this was a bad move by Stern.  Chris Paul doesn't want to stay in New Orleans.  Even if the Hornets had managed to sign them there were still questions to whether or not they could be competitive with the team around Paul.  With the trade New Orleans would have had a decent starting lineup and could have been a player in the tough Southwest division.  While we've seen the collecting of star players by franchises lead to championships (Celtics, Lakers) there is still no promise of success.  This is a bad move by David Stern and a bad move for the league.