Explaining the craziest trade in NBA history

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Few saw the biggest trade in NBA history coming.

Sure Luka Doncic has been injured a lot and is going to get a new, even bigger contract soon from the Dallas Mavericks, who are under new ownership, but players of his caliber and age simply never move unless they loudly demand to be traded. And the Anthony Davis-LeBron James partnership has been a strong one in Los Angeles for a long time now, with the duo winning an NBA title not long after Davis was acquired from New Orleans.

The early morning news Sunday shook the NBA and the sporting world as a whole. Players couldn’t believe it, fans were dumbfounded and you can bet other franchises were wondering why they didn’t get a shot at bidding for Doncic, one of the most talented offensive players in the history of the sport.

Here’s more on the madness:

WHAT’S THE DEAL?

Dallas traded Doncic, injured veteran Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles for Davis, young guard Max Christie, who has shown some promise, the Lakers 2029 first round pick.

Utah helped facilitate the deal and got a second round pick from each team and guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who hasn’t shown much in the NBA.

WHERE DOES IT RANK ALL-TIME?

This is likely the most shocking trade in NBA history and probably the biggest, in terms of the names involved. Doncic has averaged 28.7 points per game in his career and doesn’t turn 26 until later this month. Only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain have averaged more points. He also averages 8.27 assists, 12th all-time and has already led Dallas to the NBA Finals once.

Davis is undoubtedly one of the premier two-way players in league history. He’s 25th in the all-time points per game list, is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, has led the league in blocked shots three times and has hauled in nearly 11 rebounds per game over his career. The talent involved in the trade is unmatched.

If Wayne Gretzky can get traded at age 27 right after delivering another championship to Edmonton, any athlete can, but Doncic being moved now is a stunner nearly of Gretzky to L.A. caliber.

Davis to Los Angeles in the first place was big, since he delivered a title and an NBA Cup win and was moved for three solid players, including Brandon Ingram and many draft picks, as was Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package that included a bevy of picks and some Canadian kid named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is in the same class as Doncic (though nobody knew at the time SGA would come close to this level one day).

The biggest Raptors trade ever, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and picks is nowhere close to the scale of this one.

WHAT WAS DALLAS THINKING?

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday Dallas general manager Nico Harrison and Lakers counterpart Rob Pelinka kept these talks extremely quiet, with only ownership on both sides also knowing about them. Charania said it was “done in the shadows” and that Doncic is “still shocked” by the deal. After breaking the news, Charania had to post on social media multiple times that he had not been hacked, the trade was real.

Harrison put out a statement saying defense wins championships (Doncic is not a good defender) and hinted to reporters that many other teams are lining up their cap situations to try to lure Doncic away down the line so they made a move now they think helps now and in the future (with Doncic hurt again adding Davis should make them quite interesting in the short term, but that’s about the best we can say about this decision).

Mark Cuban seemed to love Doncic like a son and believed he was an all-timer. But Cuban sold and no longer calls the shots for the Mavericks.

Fans there are enraged and you can understand why, even if Doncic has built up a bit of a reputation for not being in top shape, for complaining to officials and not getting back on defence.

It was stupid when Phoenix and Sacramento passed on Doncic at the 2018 draft, as was Atlanta moving down with Dallas, getting Trae Young and a draft pick in the process. Doncic had dominated the second-best league in the world as a teenager.

It seems even crazier now to not engage the rest of the league and see what they’d be willing to give up for Doncic. It should be a fireable offence for Harrison.

WHY FOR THE LAKERS?

If you’ve read to this point you can figure it out. The Lakers will have to figure out if LeBron and Luka can co-exist, but if not, they have the type of succession plan in place that Logan Roy would have dreamed of. And it doesn’t really matter when Father Time finally catches up to James or if he won’t take to not being the top dog for the first time since elementary school.

Davis is fantastic, but he’s a lot older than Doncic, has a long injury history of his own, bristles at being asked to play centre and is owed more than $170 million U.S. over the next three years on a deal that will take him through age 35. The 2029 first doesn’t matter if they have Doncic locked in, though there is the risk that he goes elsewhere. Still, you have to roll the dice here if given the chance.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

There was plenty. Even NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons (of the Dallas Cowboys) weighed in.

NBA players like Jalen Brunson, who was drafted by Dallas the same year as Doncic, but became a superstar after landing with New York, and Kevin Durant, who has been a part of mega-moves of his own.

Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki didn’t seem pleased.