ADVERTISEMENT

Mavericks trading franchise star to Lakers for NBA champion as part of shocking blockbuster

Very surprised. Davis is hurt all the time. Also surprised the Mavs didn't get more draft picks in the deal.
 
The Nets got six first round picks from the Knicks for Mikal Bridges. The Mavericks got one for one of the greatest players of his generation.
 
The Nets got six first round picks from the Knicks for Mikal Bridges. The Mavericks got one for one of the greatest players of his generation.
We will see what comes out, but this is easily the most stunning trade in my lifetime. Luka is a top 3 player in the NBA and 25 years old. Sure, they would have to pay him a small nation's GDP in a year-and-a-half, but teams spent decades trying to get a player like that.
 
Trade was probably an idea of the league office and forced upon Dallas to bring viewership and intrigue back
 
Here are the players who led their teams to the NBA Championship in the last 30 years, in reverse-chronological order: Jaylen Brown, Joker, Steph, Giannis, LeBron, Kawhi, Durant, Dirk, Kobe, Garnett, Pierce, D-Wade, Chauncey Billups, Duncan, Shaq, Jordan, and Hakeem. With the exception of Chauncey Billups, all of the above players were at one time in their career top 5 or at worst top 10, A1 Superstars, who were proven #1 options on their teams.

AD is an outstanding individual player. Kyrie is an outstanding individual player who had an all-time Finals performance in Game 7 in 2016. This is going to sound like apostasy, especially speaking about a player from NJ, but neither AD nor Kyrie are A1 franchise players. AD in New Orleans had two winning seasons and never led his team past the second round of the playoffs. Kyrie's Cavs were irrelevant before LeBron came back and he completely flopped in Boston as the franchise player. They are great second bananas to superstars like LeBron and Luka.

Dallas thinks that AD and Kyrie together give them the best chance to win now. Do they know what they are doing? Well consider that the GM by his own admission today did not speak to any other team besides the Lakers, and did not consult with the head coach before executing the trade. This was simply an impulse prove, one I think that will haunt the franchise perhaps for decades to come.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT