Over the weekend with the trade deadline fast approaching, teams were aggressive in securing stars for their future. These resulted in some blockbuster trades that could shift the dynamic of the league for years to come.
Luka to Lakers
By far the biggest trade this weekend was Luka Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. When I saw the House of Highlights post that he had been traded, I thought it was one of those fake HoH accounts that posted outrageous trades. But upon further investigation, I found it to be true. The Dallas Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis and a first round pick. Mavs GM, Nico Harrision, says that the reason behind the trade is a culture shift. He explained how defense is what is going to bring them championships and that is why they were so aggressive in trading for AD. While I agree with this statement, Doncic should not be the guy you are trading to get that defense. Doncic is a 25 year old franchise player who is just reaching his prime. He has had the best 7 year start to an NBA career since Lebron James. Not to mention he just led the team to the Finals last year. I honestly think the Mav’s GM should lose his job over this. He traded a young superstar who could be the face of the league for an aging center who is extremely injury prone. I just do not see how this benefits the Mavs at all. Props to the Lakers though, they forever have the right to photoshop any player into a Laker’s jersey and say it’s happening.
Fox to Spurs
De’Aaron Fox was traded to the Spurs Sunday night in a three team trade that included Sacramento receiving Zach Lavine. Wemby finally gets a star point guard to take the weight off of his shoulders offensively, and Fox is going to a team that is primed to become a dynasty. Sacramento has been falling apart ever since their playoff appearance in 2023. They fired their head coach, Mike Brown, after a disappointing start to this season and they have yet to replicate the success of the 2023 season. The Spurs made a good move by trading for Fox. Wemby is already a top player in the league and the championship window is already starting to open for them. Once they build around their 7’3” big man, they could become unstoppable. I think they could even make a push for the playoffs in the second half of the season.
Lavine to Kings
In return for trading away Fox, the Kings received Zach Lavine from the Bulls. Lavine has been in trade talks for a while and it seems like Sacramento is where he is going to play for the foreseeable future. His three point shooting will bring some spacing to the Kings offense that they desperately need. This will allow Sabonis to work freely inside the paint. While the Kings have to foot the large price tag of Lavine at $43 million… Overall though, I like this trade for the Kings, they were able to get 3 first round picks out of Fox, which will set them up for the future.
