Luka AD trade thread Part II

[AleksandarN]

about to do two hours of house work. what's the best emergency pods on this I should have queued up?

Hoops collective. Tim MacMahon has some good insight into the Mavs. Since he is espn’s reporter for the Mavs

[BasketballAnon]

Read on Twitter

It's annoying that the grifters of media look for every opportunity to turn every single thing as something to rage against things/people/organizations they don't like. But I get it. They're not on the biggest networks anymore so they have to grift to feed the rage/angry fanbases of modern society because that is how they can pay their bills. It's just obvious that they try way to hard to appeal to their most fervent audience to the point that you wonder do they actually have any thoughts of their own about anything.

People not connected to major networks are far more likely to tell you the truth or give you a different POV than anyone at ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, FS1 and so forth will. Those channels aren't going to accuse their partners of bribery, corruption and so forth. They might say, "oh wow, I don't agree with Silver on ____" or "they are shooting too many three's" but they aren't going much further than that.

This applies to non-basketball issues as well. Essentially, "follow the money".

[scrabbarista]

about to do two hours of house work. what's the best emergency pods on this I should have queued up?

I just finished Simmons. Still have Lakers Lounge, The Athletic Daily Show, and Windhorst cued up.

You could see Russillo and Mahoney were like, "This makes no sense," whereas Simmons, as the guy who's worth twenty million or whatever, was a lot more willing to just roll with it.

I mean, just psychologically, the better something has been to you, the less likely you are to question it.

Anyway, that's tangential. It's just always something I notice when crazy or "unexplainable" things happen in NBA news.

[hauntedcomputer]

My theory on this is basically Harrison felt he could not have traded Luka without getting a "star" back and Davis is as close as he could get to fitting this label. Even when teams get huge hauls of future draft picks(even unprotected ones) for stars it still can be hard to sell to the most casual of fans because you're trying to get them to be patience and wait for the future when it comes time to cash in these picks.

Find me a single Mavs fan sold on this. Mavs Reddit is in flames burning everything down. Most claim to be done (we know how that goes)

[Golabki]

The Gasol trade always seemed a little suspicious, but I moved on. And I like to joke about the Lakers' free throw advantage—I get it with LeBron and AD, but does Austin Reaves really need a superstar whistle too? Still, I never took it too seriously.

But now? I’m fully convinced the NBA is rigged for the Lakers. Other owners should be demanding that this trade be voided and investigated.

If you told me this deal happened because Dr. Buss rose from the grave as the Lich King and stole the soul of Miriam Adelson, I’d have to admit—I’ve never believed in necromancy, but that explanation makes more sense than the Mavs just not being able to get two firsts for Luka.

Seek help. Immediately. It's called business. Believe it or not, each team is managed independently. Wild right, the thought that billionaire owners understand what they are doing.

The Mavs deciding they wanted to trade Luka now is very very stupid, but believable. The Mavs prioritizing AD as the return is stupid, but I suppose it's also believable. The Mavs deciding that the best offer they could get doesn't include the 2031 1st, or the 2030 swap, or Reaves or even Knetch? Deciding that without even talking to other teams? That part just does not make any sense to me. I just cannot believe that Nico Harrison is that incompetent.

[JustBuzzin]

Both teams get worse. Good news for the rest of the west.

.

Luka got Kyrie to the Finals last year with role players. What you think he gone do with LeBron?

Y'all better bash the Lakers now because I think people forgot who Luka is and how he can lift a team. LeBron in that Pippen role sheesh good luck.

[Iwasawitness]

NBA commissioner has the power to do what they want. No trade will happen without passing him first. If both teams have agreed there's about 0 chance he'll intertwine. People bring up Stern blocking Chris Paul to the Lakers back in the day but a lot of them don't know that was solely because the Hornets at the time were managed by the NBA due to the teams ownership issues and Stern, being the one person in charge of the league and the Hornets, saw it as a a conflict of interests if he traded Paul to LA and make them the best team in the league.

You're not firing the commissioner for protecting the integrity of the game.

No matter what you or anyone else says. This trade has destroyed the integrity and credibility of the game.

It's that bad. You'll be hearing about this for decades. Worse than the frozen envelope theory in the NBA lottery.

People are really starting to overrate this trade for the Lakers.

[Tripod]

Think of the jersey sales the league just created

[Iwasawitness]

Both teams get worse. Good news for the rest of the west.

.

Luka got Kyrie to the Finals last year with role players. What you think he gone do with LeBron?

Y'all better bash the Lakers now because I think people forgot who Luka is and how he can lift a team. LeBron in that Pippen role sheesh good luck.

Irving fits a lot better alongside Luka than a 40 year old LeBron… not to mention they still don’t have a center.

[jokeboy86]

The funny part in all this is the people who think Luka and LeBron aren't a formidable championship duo.

Do you realize LeBron is now playing the Pippen role. This man was literally the best player on the floor vs the Knicks last night. They are a legit center away from winning the West this year.

I said what I said.

I would agree with you if Lebron was 5 - 10 years younger. He's a man, he's 40 and say what you want about Davis but the defense he provided cannot be understated. Plus if anything you want Lebron with the ball in his hands and not playing off-ball at this point in his career and when he was playing with another elite guard it was usually one who could run the floor with him and who was athletic(Wade, Kyrie). Luka is neither. Lakers still don't have the depth to deal with teams like Thunder, Mavs(if healthy), Clippers or even Houston. Plus if they thought they had issues beating the Nuggets before they can forget it altogether now because Jokic will now obliterates them every time now only this time he can rest on defense because AD is gone.

[The Corey's]

You're not firing the commissioner for protecting the integrity of the game.

No matter what you or anyone else says. This trade has destroyed the integrity and credibility of the game.

It's that bad. You'll be hearing about this for decades. Worse than the frozen envelope theory in the NBA lottery.

People are really starting to overrate this trade for the Lakers.

Really? Let me reiterate my own point from 1am.

The Clippers sent Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps in exchange for Paul **** George.

You was saying? George is worth all that but Luka is only worth a single pick a half decade from now and the pushing 32 year old David who is good for 30 missed games a year?

Give me a break. It really is that bad.

[KingFox]

I’m actually stunned the Kings front office (as chaotic as they are smh) let Fox in on the fact that they’d received calls and offers, while Dallas didn’t even hint the same to Luka of all players. Zero communication. What bizarre world and timeline are we living in right now?

[Yoshun]

This was personal for some reason. Hopefully we find out at some point.

[mcmurphy]

Jokic will be pissed off thinking that Doncic was available

Watch on YouTube

[TorontoBarneys]

If I was Luka I'd 100% opt out and leave LA in the summer of '26.

Don't be part of this garbage any longer than you have to.

[jokeboy86]

My theory on this is basically Harrison felt he could not have traded Luka without getting a "star" back and Davis is as close as he could get to fitting this label. Even when teams get huge hauls of future draft picks(even unprotected ones) for stars it still can be hard to sell to the most casual of fans because you're trying to get them to be patience and wait for the future when it comes time to cash in these picks.

Find me a single Mavs fan sold on this. Mavs Reddit is in flames burning everything down. Most claim to be done (we know how that goes)

Oh don't get me wrong trading Luka is not sellable in any shape or form just the GM probably thinks he couldn't sell people on unprotected draft picks for the next couple of years and this alternative is slightly better.

[Lakers In 5]

We’ve seen trades get vetoed before, and one of the most famous ones also involved the Lakers. Funny thing is, the Lakers package for CP3 was actually solid. This on the other hand is lopsided beyond comprehension.

I don’t see the trade going through.

The Paul trade was able to get a veto because the Hornets did not have ownership at the time, which made the NBA, and thus Stern, the de facto owner. Silver doesn't have much say in this one.

[Archx]

Lol Nico already on the damage control.

Read on Twitter

Why is this guy so sure of himself? He's got 1 Finals appearance and no rings and he thinks he's the smartest GM in the league. At least Calvin Booth has a title and that's the reason he's acting so smug. The fact that he's acting like this is such a genius/obvious move to make and taking a shot at Luka(that "defense" quip), who was the most decorated Mavs player since Dirk is disturbing and oft-putting.

Yeah the "defense" statement was weird as hell. Even against Celtics, Mavs problem wasn't defense, it was actually offense. No team played better defense vs them in playoffs than the Mavs. And even this year, if you look at all the metrics on this Mavs team, Luka was actually one of their best players on that end as well. I know it's not popular among fans to say stuff like that but for anyone who follows the team and actually looks at multiple stats, it's clear as a day defense with Luka was never an issue.

But i do understand AD (Maybe) gives Mavs something extra around the rim, it's just that you're left with Kyrie/Dinwiddie backcourt in 2025. Nico saying it's also a trade for the future? Now that sounds insanely idiotic to me.

And from Lakers perspective. I hope they know Luka will walk and sign with Nuggets as soon as he can. It will take too long for them to build a team around him like Mavs finally achieved last and this year.

[jokeboy86]

Read on Twitter

It's annoying that the grifters of media look for every opportunity to turn every single thing as something to rage against things/people/organizations they don't like. But I get it. They're not on the biggest networks anymore so they have to grift to feed the rage/angry fanbases of modern society because that is how they can pay their bills. It's just obvious that they try way to hard to appeal to their most fervent audience to the point that you wonder do they actually have any thoughts of their own about anything.

People not connected to major networks are far more likely to tell you the truth or give you a different POV than anyone at ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, FS1 and so forth will. Those channels aren't going to accuse their partners of bribery, corruption and so forth. They might say, "oh wow, I don't agree with Silver on ____" or "they are shooting too many three's" but they aren't going much further than that.

This applies to non-basketball issues as well. Essentially, "follow the money".

The difference is by being on a major network they still can be held accountable(on some networks not all) and admit when they get something wrong or something was factually incorrect. As much as people bemoan the NYT, WSJ, WaPo if they get something wrong they still will include "corrections". You let me know the next time these "truth tellers" or social media prophets apologize or admit when they get something completely wrong and admit they didn't vet their sources. They don't. Because nowadays admitting your wrong or you got something incorrect is something that today's consumers/viewers don't want to see or acknowledge because it "shows weakness" or "gives your enemies something to hold over you". If anything they ignore they ever said it or act like it didn't happen.

[KingFox]

When Iverson was moved, i remember there being a lot more to the story and him having a ton of different issues but none of that surprised me. This stuff with Luka is just shocking because most teams would do all they can to make that relationship work wtf