Trades rock the NBA landscape

Luka and AD, Fox, Butler, Hunter, Kuzma, Ingram

BY DAVID THORPE

Many believe the LeBron James-Luka Dončić duo won’t work. David Thorpe sees magic on the way. WALLY SKALIJ/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES

The most lopsided trade in NBA history, prior to this week’s deadline, involved Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, and the Ice Capades. Auerbach had traded Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks for the second overall pick in the 1956 draft, but there was still a chance that the Rochester Royals would snag Russell with the top pick. Auerbach convinced Walter Brown, then-Celtics owner, to promise Rochester Royals owner Les Harrison that he’d facilitate a profitable lineup of Ice Capades shows in exchange for not drafting Russell. The Celtics drafted Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, and K.C. Jones that season, and defeated the Hawks in the 1956-1957 NBA Finals.

Unless Anthony Davis wins MVP this season or next, trading Luka Dončić will go down as the worst trade in NBA history. But let’s be clear: Every single game that Luka dominates once AD slips a few pegs—and certainly after he retires—will remind everyone just how bad this trade was.

It’s unlikely that the Mavs or the Lakers will contend for a title this year, but swapping a perennial MVP candidate for a 31-year-old All-NBA power forward and kickers boggles the mind.

But Luka and AD weren’t the only big names on the move this week. Jimmy Butler is now a Warrior. De’Aaron Fox has joined Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio. The Cavs got De’Andre Hunter for a steal. The Bucks swapped Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma. Brandon Ingram is now a Raptor. It’s a whole new league.

Let’s dig into those trades and how they might affect each team’s playoff chances this year and beyond.

The Lakers get a future MVP

Look, you grab Luka Dončić for any reason you can. Period. The Lakers get one of the best players in the world nowhere close to his prime.

Several people, including former players, are questioning whether Luka and LeBron can play together. Anyone who says that makes it sound like they’ve never watched basketball before. I remember the same criticisms when LeBron joined Dwyane Wade in Miami. It was nonsensical then, and it’s nonsense now.

Sure, they’ll have to figure it out. But LeBron’s usage rate isn’t too far away from Kyrie Irving’s usage rate next to Luka. (Oh, yeah, they said the same thing about Kyrie and Luka, too: “You only have one ball.”) The good news about the Lakers: there’s no third guy that needs it a bunch. Austin Reaves will want the ball some, but the Lakers have one of the greatest play makers of all time playing with one of the greatest player makers of all time. I don’t understand how that could be a problem.