After a huge 128-112 win at the Mecca known as Madison Square Garden in New York over the beloved Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers finished up their annual “Grammy” road trip 4-1 and looking to continue playing good basketball as we near the All-Star break.
Then the NBA world was hit with one of the most shocking trades in history.
TOP NEWS
Lakers superstar Anthony Davis, who sat out the last two games as he dealt with an abdominal injury, was sent to Dallas for another Superstar in Luka Doncic.
The Lakers did, in fact, trade Davis, as well as Max Christie and a first-round pick for Doncic. In a single moment, the team officially ended questions about how much more it should pour into a team built around LeBron James and Davis.
“LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said,” McMenamin posted.
LA now has a future — a 25-year-old star who is coming off his first NBA Finals appearance last June. They completely discarded their present plans with the duo that helped this historic franchise win its 17th NBA championship to make this trade happen.
Related: Who won the blockbuster Luka-AD trade?
In Dallas, according to reports, the Mavericks were growing frustrated with Doncic’s conditioning. He’d been out of action since suffering a calf injury on Christmas, and this summer, was headed for a max extension.
And while Davis, according to people familiar with the situation, was stunned — again, no one knew about this — the eventual end with the Lakers was probably coming at some point.
The Lakers spent a lot of this past summer essentially letting Davis know that he would be the driver in their future decisions, only for the team to hire a first-time coach against his wishes while failing to aggressively overhaul the roster. And if James were to retire and the Lakers needed to head into a full rebuild, Davis would be the best tool to turbo-charge that process.
The trade also means that getting James another run at a title in the short term is not the Lakers’ top priority, which certainly could cloud his plans for the future.
“Luka is a one-of-a-kind, young global superstar who will lead this franchise for years to come,” president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said in a statement released by the team Sunday. “His killer instincts and commitment to winning championships will be a driving force for the team. We will be relentless in building a roster around the on-court vision Coach Redick has for this basketball team and there is an unwavering commitment to that work to serve our loyal and dedicated fans. We are grateful for today and look forward to what’s next.”
What is next? Will be the biggest question surrounding LA moving forward.
