By JEFFREY BATTLE

The Luka Dončić trade took the internet by storm on Saturday, February 1st at 10 PM. Luka Dončić was traded to the Lakers, and Anthony Davis was traded to the Mavericks. There were other pieces, including another team, but this was not an important part of the trade (Never Forget the UTAH FUCKING JAZZ was in this trade). Luka has been (and still is) a top 3-5 player in the league, and will continue to be for a very long time. See, the surprising part about the Mavericks allowing Luka to go is that you are taking away your perennial all-star who took you to the fucking finals for the third fucking time. If you want to talk about the details of the pieces and why the Mavericks agreed to it, here is the reason. The Mavericks were getting scared that Luka reportedly weighed around 270 lbs. They would also have to give him the supermax contract, which would be 325 million dollars over a four-year span. This amount made the team worried they couldn’t keep any of the other players they wanted, and would have to settle for middle-of-the-barrel players. 

There are many reasons why it would make sense for a team to get worried about a player being that heavy, and having to pay that much at Luka’s position. Luka is a point guard, known as a high-scoring position, who also efficiently assists other players. Most point guards (PG for short) will need to have some crafty dribbling skills and be fast to overcome the size difference that they have in the league (most PG’s range from 6’0-6’4). Luka isn’t a typical PG. Luka is a 6’7, with all the attributes of a PG, but uses his extra weight to add to the post-scoring game that many have forgotten about today. What the Mavericks don’t understand about playing for their team is that Luka WAS the FUCKING TEAM. The second thing right now is that the Mavericks look like they have a team that can fight for a playoff contention spot with championship contention, but they failed to realize that Luka is 25 years old. This season, Luka is averaging 28 pts, 8 assists, and 8 points per game, all the while shooting a fantastic 58% true shooting percentage. Anthony Davis adds a true long-reach forward that the Mavs are missing and is defensively a better anchor, but you can not tell me that this league is not favoring offense again for the umpteenth time. The three-ball is at an all-time high and though it may have been slow to start this season, it seems that the attempts for the three pointers have gone up once again. 

The Lakers ended up winning this trade. The years of Lebron (My Sunshine) are ending, and it is very sad to see. He has just hit 40 years old, and though it doesn’t look like his game will slow down, the physicality that 82 games brings on a player that old is a fair amount. Michael Jordan tried, and unfortunately didn’t get to amount to the legacy that he wanted. Chris Paul (CP3, or CP0, cause of the number of rings he has) is still playing well, but his game has long since declined, relegating him to just being a facilitator without the amount of athleticism that he had in 2018 (Him and Harden would’ve beaten the Warriors if he stayed healthy). 

The Lakers are doing what seems smart. Luka and Lebron do the same exact thing on the court: Being oversized PG’s with amazing assisting abilities while scoring at such a high efficiency. If the two of them can coexist on the court, this trade is going to be amazing for the Lakers. Since his first time entering the league, Lebron doesn’t have to be the best player on his team anymore. Luka is better than Lebron at this point in his career; he has the ability to score highly, but, crucially, he does not NEED to: a crucial point that would be a smart idea for the Lakers. After this trade occurred, we can see the lack of two crucial pieces on the starting lineup: A true center, and a power forward that could help out on defense and inside the paint. Of course, the Lakers somehow got pieces, and even if they were never as good as Anthony Davis, I feel that JJ Reddick can figure it out (Feeling bad for Kidd right now, he’s fuming). Being 25 years old, Luka can now be the face of a very well-known historic franchise even after Lebron fades off into the sunset. The pieces for the present and future are there now. Unlike my Milwaukee Bucks (love you Dame and Giannis).

Featured image: Vox