The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world on Saturday, buying celebrity Luka Doncic in a large commerce with the Dallas Mavericks. And all it price the Lakers was Anthony Davis who’s a perennial Defensive Participant of the 12 months candidate and arguably the Lakers’ greatest participant this season.
To say this commerce was a blockbuster is an understatement. To say it was stunning is an understatement. This commerce between the Mavericks and the Lakers is arguably the most important deal within the final 15-20 years.
Presently, each Doncic and Davis are out as a consequence of harm. Davis lately left the Lakers’ street journey as a consequence of a shoulder harm and was set to be re-evaluated in a single week. In the meantime, Doncic remains to be sidelined from a calf harm he suffered again on Christmas Day in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So it’s nonetheless up within the air when both participant will make their debut with their new groups. However within the meantime, the right here’s our commerce grade for the Lakers buying Luka Doncic in a bombshell commerce.
Lakers new celebrity in Luka Doncic
The Lakers have all the time had celebrity gamers all through their franchise historical past, seemingly one proper after the opposite. And now they’ve their new one for the subsequent decade. As a result of that’s precisely why it seems this commerce was achieved, for the Lakers’ future.
Doncic is barely 25 years previous and never but within the prime of his profession. With a contract extension seemingly looming on the horizon, the Lakers have set themselves up properly for the post-LeBron James years.
Typically among the best issues to do is to confess what has change into painfully apparent, and that’s that this Lakers workforce was nonetheless a number of items away from being a reputable contender. And with the Lakers reportedly balking on the asking costs for reputable centersLakers reportedly balking on the asking costs for reputable facilities, a request of Davis, a comparatively quiet commerce deadline was seemingly on the horizon.
However now, the Lakers have a plan to promote to their fanbase. As soon as the preliminary shock and even disappointment of shedding Davis wears off, the long-term plan comes into focus. LeBron James isn’t going to play perpetually. He has just one extra 12 months left on his contract ought to he not train his participant possibility on the finish of the season.
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Whereas Davis was being groomed to take over the mantle of franchise star as soon as James retired, the chance to get a participant the caliber of Doncic was too good to cross up. Doncic is youthful than Davis, and only a flat out higher participant to construct round.
That’s no disrespect to Davis, who’s a future Corridor of Fame participant in his personal proper. However Doncic is a kind of generational kind superstars, and the Lakers would have been silly to show down a proposal like this, if studies are to be believed that the Mavericks approached them first.
Whereas Doncic has been hampered by harm this season, within the 22 video games he has performed in, he’s been averaging 28.1 factors, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and a pair of.0 steals. He’s capturing 46.4 % from the sphere, 35.4 % kind the three-point line and 76.7 % from the free-throw line. Davis is a strolling double-double, Doncic is a strolling triple-double.
Realistically, the Lakers punted on the remainder of this season. Doncic has been out for a couple of month now and goes to should get acclimated to a brand new workforce. The Lakers are additionally dangerously skinny within the frontcourt, even with Jarred Vanderbilt returning to the lineup. This was not a fantastic rebounding workforce even with Davis.
However as talked about earlier than, the Luka Doncic commerce is all in regards to the future for the Lakers. He’s set as much as be the face of the franchise for the subsequent a number of years. All that continues to be is to see if the entrance workplace is able to placing a contending roster round Doncic. However within the immediacy, this commerce earns a excessive mark for the Lakers. From their perspective, it was a no brainer.
Last commerce grade: A