Oh boy.
I was just as shocked as the next man when I saw the headline this morning. Even NBA insiders, including Lebron himself, reportedly didn't see this one coming. And this trade is odd for a number of reasons yet at the same time, from certain perspectives, does make sense.
WHAT MAKES SENSE
THE MAVS MOVING ON FROM LUKA, IF THEY ACTUALLY WANT TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP
Maybe the Mavs' braintrust has been incepted and were like 'yeah, Jah Iteh is right. Luka got us to the next level but isn't likely to take us beyond that. After all, it's hard to rely on a superstar who, even if the team does make the Finals, will probably be so exhausted by that point that he can't consistently contribute'. That's what seemed to have happened last year, i.e. Luka running out of gas, as exacerbated by the Celtics' stiff wing defense.
This is also, in a way, Klay Thompson's fault or more specifically whatever faction of Dallas' braintrust thought it was a good idea to acquire him. Yeah, it was a good idea as far as generating headlines are concerned. But here you have a team that just made the Finals and are, in theory, just a player away from a championship. And that player is ancient ass Klay Thompson, whom his former team - who by all means will retire his number one day - didn't even want anymore?
That was a lazy, hasty and may I also chime stupid move on the part of the Mavs. Instead of getting someone to actually move the needle forward, they just more or less replaced Tim Hardaway Jr. Also, it ain't like when Luka is inevitably out icing his knees or whatever, Klay is a viable replacement for him. Man, if I had a dollar for every time NBA franchises chased waterfalls instead of sticking to the rivers and lakes that they're used to.
KYRIE + AD
I can envision the pairing of Kyrie + AD. Remember that a season or two ago, the Lakers, with AD on their roster, actually tried to get Irving. Or at least Lebron wanted him, or something like that.
This pairing would have been really exciting news if it happened five or six years ago. And I get it - better to make a powermove than sit back and watch the ship sank.
But from what's being implied by news reports, the main impetus to move Doncic may not have even been (solely) lack of progress from last season. Instead, he would have demanded something like a superduper max from the Mavs next offseason. And it's like yeah, if you're not going to win a championship with dude in the foreseeable future, if ever, then why pay him close to $400mil(!).
WHAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE
First of all, Luka and AD play like polar opposite positions and have different playing styles. So it's not like you can literally replace one on the roster with the other. Dallas can accommodate AD, since they have notable depth @ G. Contrastingly, the Lakers' frontline is lacking, and that was true, all things considered, even when AD was around. Like it's shocking they didn't also try to get at least one of the Mavs' bigs in the transaction.
LUKA AND LEBRON ARE TOO SIMILAR
It makes no sense to have Luka play alongside Lebron, since they have almost identical playing styles. It isn't like, say, Pippen and Jordan. Their styles were also similar, but they were also able to dominate opponents with athleticism and defense also. Meanwhile, Lebron is now too old to play defense at an NBA level, and Luka was never known to have any type of true defensive or athletic prowess.
I haven't really watched the NBA this year. But if Lebron, with his gigantic ass, is still jacking up threes instead of using his body to more consistently exploit the post, I mean, he plays out of position. This is something I've written about so many times in the past, with the conclusion being that, hey, if King James wants to run point - even if he could serve the Lakers better at another position - then fuck it, let him run point. Like who can tell him no type sh*t?
LEBRON ALSO LEAVING TOWN?
Here's a hot tidbit. MediaTakeOut ran a story today saying that, in the aftermath of the AD trade, Lebron is interested in migrating over to the Knicks. A mainstream media site would be reluctant to publish a rumor like that. But before you laugh at the notion, consider this. First of all, James has a history of bouncing on teams, even ones built around him, when they're no longer competitive. Yes, the Lakers haven't realistically been contenders in years. But the departure of AD has now like officially driven that notion home, you know, has woken Lebron up type shit.
Secondly, MTO did foretell KAT going to the Knicks about a month or two before it actually happened last summer. And third, Lebron also has a history of, when leaving one team, going to another that has a clearly better roster. But now that they are contenders, I shudder to think, if these reports are true, that the Knicks would actually bite the bait and like trade or let go off some valued players go to receive Lebron.
Reading in between the lines, if they Lakers really did trade AD without informing or consulting Lebron beforehand, then you know, the writing is on the wall that it's time for him to go also., esp since they more or less went out and got a younger version of King James.
LUKA, THE LAKERS' STAR OF THE FUTURE?
The way NBC, and others I would presume, are trying to spin it is that now, the Lakers have their star of the future. Lebron\s career is currently like you never know when he's going to retire. And if AD isn't healthy now, there's no reason, given his history, to believe he'll be better off in the future. But the same thing can be said for Luka, which once again makes the Lakers' logic in this transaction questionable. Maybe by the end of the day, AD, Luka and Lebron will all be gone, and they'll truly have to 'rebuild' from the ground up.
If you aren't going to win games, at least be able to sell tickets. And as far as young stars go, Luka's name is, as far as I know, as big as any in the NBA.
The Lakers also, you know, if any team can flesh out a roster, it's LAL. Their rosters over the past few seasons haven't really been that bad and sometimes were actually impressive. The bigger problem has been Lebron and even AD (in times past) like refusing to play their right positions, i.e. to their strengths instead than getting caught up in the jump-shooting craze. If you have arguably the best all-around C currently in the league coupled with the best PF in history, you're supposed to be completely dominating opponents in the paint, not just winning one championship because you'd rather play like the Dubs.
Over the next season or two, if Luka remains in LA, we can expect the Lakers to put an admirable roster around him, presumably sans Lebron. If any team can pull off some miracle roster shit, it's them. But like, didn't he already have a damn good supporting cast in Dallas? And even though he's only 25 years old, can we really take for granted he's NBA-strong enough to lead a franchise into the future? Fuck 82 games, Luka needs to be playing in Europe or some shit.
I can also imagine this move may alienate some Dallas fans. The Mavs are a team, like the Spurs, who're like known to accommodate foreign stars and in their case, let's say White Europeans in particular. Here we all are, thinking this would be a lifelong relationship, similar to the one Dirk had with the franchise. But instead, the Mavs have proven that they're more interested in, well, saving money than adhering to tradition.
CONCLUSION
I didn't even mention the Jazz, who are also involved in here somewhere. They've become arguably the most insignificant team in the league, which is shocking, at least to me, with Danny Ainge involved. Like Ainge was my deadass braintrust hero before bringing about the fiasco the Utah Jazz have become.
That said, the Mavs aren't any worse off now than they were with Luka. All things considered, it might even make more sense having AD around rather. But it's like a new day yet the same ol' shit, as Dallas remains a team banking on the health of two oft-injured superstars. But, you never know. At least, unlike the Lakers apparently, there's a chance this Dallas roster can work out sooner than later, perhaps even instantly, once everybody is healthy(?). When you know you have to eventually face up against squads like the Thunder and Nuggets, teams with quality bigs, then yeah, might as well give up Luka for AD.
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