Luka traded to the Lakers

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by stevebay

Question for Dallas Fans...

Let's say Dallas does win the Championship this year...would you be happy, or meh, since it didn't include your once star player? From an outsider, the championship without Luka, wouldn't seem as sweet.

The only comparable example in baseball, was when Nomar (face of the franchise) was traded months before the Red Sox finally won the World Series, but I don't recall fans "sad" that Nomar was not part of it?

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I can't see any scenario that this ends up working out for them. Luka was a huge fan favorite that seemed very devoted to Dallas, at least from an outsider's point of view. The way the organization just casually dealt him as if he is CJ McCollum has to make other players question ever wanting to go there. The fact that they seem so confident that they did the right thing too is baffling considering literally everyone else is racking their brains trying to think of why they could have done it. I think it definitely has the possibility to go down as the single worst trade for a franchise, at least as of the stories we are getting now. Maybe it will come out that he demanded to be traded to LA, which will take some of the blame off the Mavs, but the way everything was handled and what's being reported just leaves everyone questioning everything. I now really doubt that he demanded a trade to LA because his dad seems pretty upset by him being blindsided by it.


I still don't see a single aspect of the trade that makes sense for Dallas.

Did you trade for a younger player with more possible upside? No
Did you load up on draft picks to build for the future? No
If you're worried about Luka's availability, did you trade for a guy that is proven to be available all the time? No
Did you at least get the most you could have for Luka? No

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by rms13

I'm listening to Kirk Goldsberry on BS Report and he was saying that he heard there was a version of the deal with 2 first round picks and Knecht going to the Mavs along with AD. But the Lakers got cold feet because of concerns about Luka and negotiated down. So I guess the Mavs got all the Lakers were willing to offer but apparently they were willing to offer more before reports leaked out of Mavs front office about Luka.

It sounds like the official narrative is that the Mavs really believe that Luka is the next Embiid and his next contract is going to be a nightmare for whoever is left holding the bag.

Also saw this clip of Michael Finely taking a beer out of Luka's hand in the locker room after they won the WCF. I don't think it means much but if I was the best player on the team and one of the top 3 in the league and the front office was treating me like a child in front of my father and the media I would probably have some resentment built up

https://x.com/GrantAfseth/status/179...114057371?mx=2

So the LAKERS got cold feet and negotiated down? If that's true the Mavs really hurt themselves.

What's the rush to trade Luka right now? He was going to sign the max extension over the summer. I can't remember the last time a player wanted out of a situation so badly that he passed up over $100M to leave. If he doesn't then sure the whole league knows something is up but then surely there would be at least 1 team willing to make a "godfather" offer of players/picks/take whatever you want.

Once Luka signed that extension, the Mavs could still have traded him if they thought he was a bad long-term investment. And over the summer, teams re-evaluate their positions and are more willing to blow it up than they are mid-season. Maybe the Thunder get upset in the 2nd round and decide they need to make a massive move. Or maybe the Bucks get ousted in the 1st round and Giannis is unhappy.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

So the LAKERS got cold feet and negotiated down? If that's true the Mavs really hurt themselves.

What's the rush to trade Luka right now? He was going to sign the max extension over the summer. I can't remember the last time a player wanted out of a situation so badly that he passed up over $100M to leave. If he doesn't then sure the whole league knows something is up but then surely there would be at least 1 team willing to make a "godfather" offer of players/picks/take whatever you want.

Once Luka signed that extension, the Mavs could still have traded him if they thought he was a bad long-term investment. And over the summer, teams re-evaluate their positions and are more willing to blow it up than they are mid-season. Maybe the Thunder get upset in the 2nd round and decide they need to make a massive move. Or maybe the Bucks get ousted in the 1st round and Giannis is unhappy.

Yes, it sounds like the Lakers got cold feet about giving up too much. The negation took over a month from what I heard. And during that time more stuff got leaked from Mavs front office about how concerned they were about Luka. So if that is all true then the Mavs front office sounds like a clown show. There is also other conspiracy theories that the Mavs ownership wants to move the team to Vegas because they are Vegas casino people and somehow torpedoing the team now will speed up that process. Right now there are so many theories and none of them really make sense to me from a basketball or business sense so I don't know what to believe. The only thing that makes sense to me is that the Mavs really do believe Luka is about to turn into a guy that's only healthy for 40-50 games per year going forward and they are dodging a bullet by not giving him the super max

[rms13]

Originally Posted by stevebay

Question for Dallas Fans...

Let's say Dallas does win the Championship this year...would you be happy, or meh, since it didn't include your once star player? From an outsider, the championship without Luka, wouldn't seem as sweet.

The only comparable example in baseball, was when Nomar (face of the franchise) was traded months before the Red Sox finally won the World Series, but I don't recall fans "sad" that Nomar was not part of it?

I am a Red Sox fan. Nobody was sad that Nomar wasn't part of winning the first WS in 86 years. Nomar was definitely one of the biggest fan favorites of my lifetime but he was also clearly breaking down when they traded him. I think people were shocked about how little value they got back for him at the time but I think the fans moved on much faster then Nomar did. From a Red Sox perspective this is much closer to the Sox trading Mookie to the Dodger for two guys who aren't with the organization anymore and below average catcher. Red Sox fans still haven't recovered from that. But basketball is much different since one player can effect the team much more then in baseball especially when that player is one of the top 3 in the world.

I'm more curious how many Mavs fans are now going to be Luka/Lakers fans now. I think a lot of NBA fans especially younger ones are more fans of players then teams now. I'm sure Mavs fans will be happy if they do win but I feel like a lot of them will be wearing Lakers 77 jerseys around Texas now.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by rms13

Yes, it sounds like the Lakers got cold feet about giving up too much. The negation took over a month from what I heard. And during that time more stuff got leaked from Mavs front office about how concerned they were about Luka. So if that is all true then the Mavs front office sounds like a clown show. There is also other conspiracy theories that the Mavs ownership wants to move the team to Vegas because they are Vegas casino people and somehow torpedoing the team now will speed up that process. Right now there are so many theories and none of them really make sense to me from a basketball or business sense so I don't know what to believe. The only thing that makes sense to me is that the Mavs really do believe Luka is about to turn into a guy that's only healthy for 40-50 games per year going forward and they are dodging a bullet by not giving him the super max

Supposedly the first time the Lakers and Mavs had discussion about Luka was Jan 7th, when Nico and his long time pal, Rob, got together for coffee.

I doubt there were leaks from the Mavs just specifically to the Lakers about Luka's conditioning that didn't get picked up by others because we would have heard something about it.

I do put some stock in the current Mavs governors being more concerned with opening a casino in Austin than putting a championship team on the floor. They've been buying up lobbyists and legislators but still haven't gotten much progress towards a casino. The story goes if they can't open a casino in Austin or Dallas they want to move the Mavs to Las Vegas. Don't know if that will ever happen, but the Adelson family seems more focused on a casino than an NBA championship.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by jacksonjj

Legally no. But Luka pulls more strings than he's given credit for, and he could easily find a reason to sit out from 'injury.'

The Mavs knew that Luka's camp would warn any other team trading for him that he wouldn't play for them either.

Another team would have taken him and flipped him to the Lakers for parts then, or get other teams involved to extract more value off Luka’s capital…

[JRX]

Maybe the mavs front office doesn't know what they're doing or maybe the media and fans don't know what they're talking about. Probably a little bit of both.

[GeechQuest]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

I do put some stock in the current Mavs governors being more concerned with opening a casino in Austin than putting a championship team on the floor. They've been buying up lobbyists and legislators but still haven't gotten much progress towards a casino. The story goes if they can't open a casino in Austin or Dallas they want to move the Mavs to Las Vegas. Don't know if that will ever happen, but the Adelson family seems more focused on a casino than an NBA championship.

The state of Texas doesn’t care about the Mavs. There’s no leverage there. Cowboys, Longhorns, and Aggies. Everything else can leave.

Go tell the West Texas state reps your leverage point is moving the Mavericks and they’ll laugh you out of the building. More powerful people than the Adelson’s with actual political capital in this state have tried to get gambling here to no avail. I actually think Adelson himself fought against gambling in Texas years ago.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Did the Hawks win the Luka for Trae swap?

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

Did the Hawks win the Luka for Trae swap?

I'd rather have AD, Max Christie, and a 2029 1st than Trae.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

Did the Hawks win the Luka for Trae swap?

Funny you say that because I was thinking it would have been fun if they traded him for Trae. Hawks probably would have been willing to give up Trae and Johnson and some other pieces for Luka. And of course Hawks fans wouldn't have to be thinking about what could have been if they drafted Luka.

[elsoblanco]

Mavs made out like bandits in this trade. Luka is a injury prone lard ass who misses far too many games who is despised by teammates refs and the like. He is a historically bad defender and the worst defender I’ve seen in the last 30 years. The celtics attacked him last year in the finals because they knew he was incapable of defense. If the Lakers think they got a franchise player they will be sadly mistaken. Teams don’t unload real franchise players. They do however offload injury prone jerks who play zero defense. If Luka can’t stay on the court at age 25, fat chance of him being fully healthy at age 30. At least AD plays some defense and will absolutely help the MAVS. I heard someone on ESPN a few years back say Luka was better than Larry Bird. Yeah, good luck with that ESPN.

[ninjabum87]

Originally Posted by elsoblanco

Mavs made out like bandits in this trade. Luka is a injury prone lard ass who misses far too many games who is despised by teammates refs and the like. He is a historically bad defender and the worst defender I’ve seen in the last 30 years. The celtics attacked him last year in the finals because they knew he was incapable of defense. If the Lakers think they got a franchise player they will be sadly mistaken. Teams don’t unload real franchise players. They do however offload injury prone jerks who play zero defense. If Luka can’t stay on the court at age 25, fat chance of him being fully healthy at age 30. At least AD plays some defense and will absolutely help the MAVS. I heard someone on ESPN a few years back say Luka was better than Larry Bird. Yeah, good luck with that ESPN.

Most obvious bait since hermano and anything Lebron.

[Nomad]

Interesting to see the Lakers want to compete now. Is this LeBron's last season or something.



As for Pacers, if they are going to move Myles instead of pay $30m, now is the time to do it. Pretty sure Luka would ask for defender Nesmith add-on. But they would probably settle for Mathurin.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ninjabum87

Most obvious bait since hermano and anything Lebron.

I actually thought he was commenting on LeBron at first!

[JWBlue]

Worst trade in the history of pro sports.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by rms13

I'm listening to Kirk Goldsberry on BS Report and he was saying that he heard there was a version of the deal with 2 first round picks and Knecht going to the Mavs along with AD. But the Lakers got cold feet because of concerns about Luka and negotiated down. So I guess the Mavs got all the Lakers were willing to offer but apparently they were willing to offer more before reports leaked out of Mavs front office about Luka.

It sounds like the official narrative is that the Mavs really believe that Luka is the next Embiid and his next contract is going to be a nightmare for whoever is left holding the bag.

Also saw this clip of Michael Finely taking a beer out of Luka's hand in the locker room after they won the WCF. I don't think it means much but if I was the best player on the team and one of the top 3 in the league and the front office was treating me like a child in front of my father and the media I would probably have some resentment built up

https://x.com/GrantAfseth/status/179...114057371?mx=2

There is no chance the Lakers make that trade. That might of been what the Mavs started out asking for. However, Luka duplicates what the Lakers already have in LeBron. Maybe if they were trading for someone who could replicate AD's defense, rebounding and rim protection. You don't trade your best player and leave a hole in your team to upgrade a position that you still have a top 10-15 player at. The Lakers need to turn the other 1st into a serviceable replacement for AD and hope Luka and LeBron can co-exist.

[ninjabum87]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

I actually thought he was commenting on LeBron at first!

Touché!

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Worst trade in the history of pro sports.

How dare you

[rms13]

Originally Posted by elsoblanco

Mavs made out like bandits in this trade. Luka is a injury prone lard ass who misses far too many games who is despised by teammates refs and the like. He is a historically bad defender and the worst defender I’ve seen in the last 30 years. The celtics attacked him last year in the finals because they knew he was incapable of defense. If the Lakers think they got a franchise player they will be sadly mistaken. Teams don’t unload real franchise players. They do however offload injury prone jerks who play zero defense. If Luka can’t stay on the court at age 25, fat chance of him being fully healthy at age 30. At least AD plays some defense and will absolutely help the MAVS. I heard someone on ESPN a few years back say Luka was better than Larry Bird. Yeah, good luck with that ESPN.

That whole narrative is fake news. Luka has averaged 66 games per year. That's more then Lebron, AD, Kawaii, Giannis, Curry, Embiid, Butler etc have averaged over that same period. The only superstar who has been on the court more then Luka since he came into the league is Joker. All of the stars in the NBA get plenty of rest in the regular season. When Luka does play he's averaged 35 min per game and put up MVP numbers. And in the post season he plays through injury and is on the court every game playing almost every minute of every game. People are just saying that because he happens to be hurt now. But of course I'm sure he's not really hurt and the Mavs were just having him sit out because they've been talking to the Lakers for a month and they didn't want to risk Luka really getting hurt before they made the trade. Of course there might be something health wise that we don't know about. But people are talking about him like he's Zion or the Ball Bros that have never been able to stay on the court which just isn't true.

[JWBlue]

Luka forced this trade. Close to zero percent chance Nco Harrison would make this trade despite what he says.

This is his reasoning: " Nico Harrison explained the trade by saying, "I believe that defense wins championships."

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by rms13

That whole narrative is fake news. Luka has averaged 66 games per year. That's more then Lebron, AD, Kawaii, Giannis, Curry, Embiid, Butler etc have averaged over that same period. The only superstar who has been on the court more then Luka since he came into the league is Joker. All of the stars in the NBA get plenty of rest in the regular season. When Luka does play he's averaged 35 min per game and put up MVP numbers. And in the post season he plays through injury and is on the court every game playing almost every minute of every game. People are just saying that because he happens to be hurt now. But of course I'm sure he's not really hurt and the Mavs were just having him sit out because they've been talking to the Lakers for a month and they didn't want to risk Luka really getting hurt before they made the trade. Of course there might be something health wise that we don't know about. But people are talking about him like he's Zion or the Ball Bros that have never been able to stay on the court which just isn't true.

Paragraphs if you want people to read

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by elsoblanco

Mavs made out like bandits in this trade. Luka is a injury prone lard ass who misses far too many games who is despised by teammates refs and the like. He is a historically bad defender and the worst defender I’ve seen in the last 30 years. The celtics attacked him last year in the finals because they knew he was incapable of defense. If the Lakers think they got a franchise player they will be sadly mistaken. Teams don’t unload real franchise players. They do however offload injury prone jerks who play zero defense. If Luka can’t stay on the court at age 25, fat chance of him being fully healthy at age 30. At least AD plays some defense and will absolutely help the MAVS. I heard someone on ESPN a few years back say Luka was better than Larry Bird. Yeah, good luck with that ESPN.

You’re a serial killer

But lots of them on this site so you’re good

[BambinoShuffle]

[rms13]

Originally Posted by asujbl

Paragraphs if you want people to read

It is one paragraph.