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

Random Wax: 1990 Pro Set Football (4 Packs)

1990 Pro Set:  Joe Montana knows a few things about the playoffs and the Super Bowl.  4X Super Bowl champion and 3X Super Bowl MVP.  I hated watching him carve up my Falcons back in the day but his decision making and accuracy were next to impossible to beat.

I was able to see Joe Montana play once while he was with Kansas City.  The greatest players I ever got to see live.

Great photo on that Barry Sanders card.  His eyes.  The intensity.  Classic look.

I love the Super Bowl Collectibles cards.  The art was pretty cool.

We get a good synopsis of the big game as well.  Well, this one wasn't much of a game.  John Elway is my favorite player all-time and man those Super Bowl losses were hard to watch.

Chuck Knox was a head coach for 22 years with the Rams, Bills and Seahawks winning 186 games, good for 11 all-time.

I'm a Jim Everett fan and this is a great photo showcasing those great Rams unis.  We also get some Creamsicle greatness. 

Two Hall of Fame and one award winner card.  Panini does a good job honoring Hall of Fame inductees, but we don't get award winners.

Actual Pro Bowl game photos on Pro Bowl cards.  Does it get any better?    

Such great cards and so much fun.  Chris Spielman is the only player of these four not in the Hall of Fame, but he was a 4X Pro Bowler and 1X All-Pro.  Dan Marino needs no introduction.  Like most fans I wish he could have at had more shots at a championship and a win.  That man could throw the ball like no other.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
5 - Coach
4 – Pro Bowl
4 – Super Bowl Collectibles
2 – Award Winner
2 – Hall of Fame Selection
1 – League Winner

  

Heart of Stone (2023)

Heart of Stone:  Gal Gadot stars in this film.  The plot is "An intelligence operative for a shadowy global peacekeeping agency races to stop a hacker from stealing its most valuable and dangerous weapon."  Plenty of action in this movie thriller that was exclusive to Netflix.  Heart of Stone is an easy watch.  I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Gal Gadot or of the spy thriller genre.

Bills lose to Chiefs 32-29 in AFC Championship Game

Buffalo lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.  Just ugh.  So close to winning.  After Buffalo got the touchdown late in the 2nd quarter, I thought they were there.  But KC had an answer for every score.  They executed really well in big moments.  Overall, the team stats were very similar.  Felt like I kept thinking Kansas City had the right play at the right time.  

I know Buffalo converted 4-6 fourth down conversions but the story is they put themselves in that situation too much.  And the failure to convert their last two fourth down conversions were huge.  They only converted 5 of 14 third downs.  Again, making them go for it on 4th.  The old guy in me was saying "kick the field goal" a few times.  I know what the metrics say different but big what ifs.  Give KC's defense credit too.  They stopped two of Buffalo's two-point conversions which, in the end, were huge.   

KC just seemed to have the right play call so many times on offense.  It was frustrating to watch.  The blitz on Buffalo's 4th down play was another perfect call.  The drop by Kincaid was huge.  It would have been a really good play but still it felt like he could and should make that catch.  Buffalo was in that situation because I think Kansas City was better and put themselves in a position to win.  It was a really good Bills play too.  It could have been a big gain if the KC defense doesn't get to Josh Allen like they did.  Their defense made it a struggle for Buffalo.  I know the Bills scored 29 points, but it rarely felt easy.  I'm always guarded as a fan, but I had bought into this iteration of Buffalo being able to win it all.  But KC was better. 

Washington - Philly was all about turnovers.  It really was that simple.  The game got away from the Commanders at the end but what can you do when you keep handing over the ball.  They were within 10 points at the end of the 3rd but the turnovers were maddening for anyone rooting for Washington or just wanting a good game.  Washington has lots of good things to take into next season and Jayden Daniels wasn't the reason they lost yesterday.  On the other side the Philly offense looked really good.  They could run, pass whatever they needed to do.  

  

Random Wax: 2023-2024 Contenders Basketball (2 Packs)

23-24 Contenders:  We'll kick this one off with Anthony Davis on a Pink Game Ticket Parallel #199.  I'm not as big a fan as most of AD, but it doesn't mean he isn't one of the great bigs in the game.  Maybe the Lakers will be able to pull off a trade for a big man that allows him to move back to power forward this season.  LA is doing well but they still need some help to get to the next level of teams.

I say it all the time.  The Joker is so much fun to watch and just an amazing player.  DeMar DeRozan is now a Sacramento King and teamed up with De'Aaron Fox now.  

These are all nice cards that showcase young players.  I like the look of the Stallions inserts quite a bit.

These are great cards.  We get retired greats on a nice design as we get to look back at when they were drafted.

Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs are killing it this year.  They really have it figured out.  I hope they can keep it going and be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

I like the 23-24 design over the previous year's look.  Jaren Jackson Jr. is having another really good year are as the Grizzlies who are a top team in the West.  Fun packs of cards.  I got a few personal favorites including Anthony Edwards showing up on a Game Night Ticket.

BREAKDOWN:
44 – Total Cards
6 – RC
2 – Draft Class
2 – Game Night Ticket
1 – Retired Greats
1 – Rookie Stallions
1 – Historic Draft Class 
1 – Green Game Ticket Parallel
1 – Pink Game Ticket Parallel #/199

Random Wax: 1991 Fleer Baseball (4 Packs)

 1991 Fleer: Cal Ripken was the opposite of flashy.  He just did his job.  Like every day...literally!  He probably doesn't get the hype he deserves and that includes from me.  He did what he did for 20 years and put up great numbers.  Not really good numbers but great numbers at a position that didn't see that very much.  Baseball Reference Great did a great comparison of all-time players at shortstop which can be seen here.  Other players at his position just don't put up the numbers he did.  Amazing player.

Dwight Gooden was coming off a 19-win season, McGwire hit 39 home runs and Righetti had 36 saves.  This design I like.  Don't ask me why.  No team logo.  Obnoxious bright yellow borders.  But still, for some reason I do like this set.

Some really good lefty hitters.  Hal Morris won a championship with the Reds in 1990 and hit .340 in the regular season to boot.

The backs were colorful though muted tones.  A Fleer thing but we get tons of stats and another photo and logo as well so all is good.

Top Game Savers is a league leaders esque card and works well.  I'd like to see their save totals or team logos but it's better than nothing.

We love the Fleer stickers, and I really enjoy the Top 10 all-time leaders for teams on the backs.  These are great snapshots of great players for each team.  Really fun to read through the lists. 

Fun memories and players.  Speaking of fun, I miss when speedsters ruled the base paths.  I know we are trending that way a bit more now, but Vince Coleman was so much to watch.  As fast as he was, he still couldn't out run a tarp which didn't help the Cardinals when they played and lost to the Royals in the '85 World Series.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
4 – Stickers
1 – Super Star Specials

Random Wax: 2021 Playoff Football Blaster

2021 Playoff:  It's the playoffs so these are fun to show off.  Aaron Donald got 6 sacks in 11 playoff games and won a Super Bowl Championship with the Rams.

The running game made a resurgence this season and Derrick Henry was a big part of it.  He rushed for 1921 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Mixed results for all three of these rookies from 2021.

Ja'Marr Chase has proven all the hype around him coming out of college was justified.

Dawkins was one of the defensive backs of his generation.

This is another box that was bought in years past that I've never posted.  I bought this blaster in April of 2022.  Who woulda thunk, but Dak Prescott is the only one of these three players not in the playoffs this year.

Love the retired greats in this set.  

The Bills get the Ravens this weekend at home.  Definitely scary for us Bills fans but if you are going to be the best you have to beat the best.  If their defense doesn't allow Baltimore to go crazy, I think Buffalo has a great chance.  And Josh Allen has been Thunder and Lightning this season.

Rams hot box!  Cooper Kupp had his best season as a pro in 2021.  145 receptions, 1947 yards and 16 touchdowns - just wow.  That Ernest Jones is one of my three Kickoff parallels.  Fun cards.  I like the design, the retired greats and looking back a few years in time.

BREAKDOWN:

56 – Total Cards

8 – RC

7 – Retired Greats

3 – Kickoff Parallel

1 – Rookie Wave

1 – Turning Pro Relic

1 – Behind the Numbers

1 – Thunder & Lightning

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

 Sonic 3:  Watched this one in the theaters last month with my grandsons, 9 and 7.  I'm not a Sonic expert nor have I seen the first two movies.  The boys have.  I'll say overall it was good, but the boys wished there was more of the movie's protagonist, Shadow who is played by Keanu Reeves.  Hard for me to break down the movie too much but I thought it was pretty good and the boys, for their reservations, had no issues sitting through the movie.

Random Wax: 1990-1991 SkyBox Basketball (3 Packs)

90-91 SkyBox:  Kevin Johnson was one of the best floor generals of the late 80s and 90s.  He was a 3X All-Star and 5X All-NBA selection.  He was also the mayor of Sacramento for two terms (8 yrs).

Derek Harper was another really good point guard and an excellent defender. 

I always enjoy showing off cards from this set.  I bought this box early last year and been showing them off slowly over time.  "Sleepy" Floyd scored 51 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in game 4 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals, 29 in the 4th quarter.

Danny Ferry looking all "I was the 2nd overall pick" in his photo.

More really good guards from the era and one all-time great.  DJ won three NBA Championships with Seattle and Boston and was a 9X All-Defensive team selection.  I love this set and all the memories of watching these guys play back in the day.

BREAKDOWN:

45 – Total Cards

2 – Checklist

Random Wax: 2022 Topps Hanger Box

2022 Topps:  The Blue Jays poor season overshadowed another great season by Vlad Guerrero Jr.

2022 Topps gives us a simple design that I liked.  Pretty clean with good design elements.  Salvador Perez also had a really good year and is probably on his way to the Hall of Fame once his playing days are done.

Lars Nootbar is the standout of these youngsters.

Great looking team card.

More youngsters and my Royal Blue Parallel.  McClanahan developed into a really good starter while Clase was a shutdown closer last year.  Fun looking back and seeing how the young players turned out.

My 1987 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary and Welcome to the Show inserts.  I like the '87 design and Welcome to the Show is growing on me.

Bichette struggled mightily last season.  I like him and hope he can figure it out in 2025.

Folks seem to like these Stars of MLB and I enjoyed the 2022 versions as well.  Purchased this hanger two years ago but finally getting it up on the blog.

A nice Ohtani appearance on my Rainbow Foil Parallel.

Fun box of cards and lots of star power.  Soto is no longer a National...or Padre...or Yankeee...after signing with the Mets.

BREAKDOWN:
65 – Total Cards
10 – RC
2 – Team Cards
2 – Checklist
1 – Royal Blue
1 – Rookie Cup
1 – Future Stars
1 – Rainbow Foil
1 – Welcome to the Show
1 - 1987 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary