The Luka trade makes sense now. The sale was the final piece.

[UglyBugBall]

idk if anyone’s connecting the dots here but after today’s news that Jeanie is officially selling the Lakers... this Luka-AD trade makes way more sense now. And it’s pretty obvious the league was involved.

first off why would the Mavs new ownership group trade Luka? makes no sense at face value. but the timeline is weird af. They closed the deal to buy the team at the start of the season. The NBA LOVES these new Vegas ties (bc of the MGM/Sands connections), and they’ve been trying to prop up Dallas as a big “next wave” franchise. Meanwhile... Jeanie has apparently been prepping a sale for months, and we known she has close ties with Silver.

You think the NBA wants their flagship franchise (Lakers) hitting the market while looking like a mess? No stars, aging LeBron, AD on the decline? That kills the valuation, they want to push the price past $8-9 billion and break records. But the team wasn’t gonna pull that kind of number as it stood and Mark wasn't gonna fork over the money over to enter the NBA unless he knew the team was ready to contend and sell jerseys. AD ain't selling no Jerseys.

Here’s where it gets shady...

we've heard rumblings that Adam Silver has been pushing for “marquee reshuffling” to get eyeballs back on the league with the new TV rights in flux last year. They've been under delivering viewers while bilking the stations for money. They needed a fresh superteam in a major market (LA) to drive hype globally. Luka going to LA was never about basketball. This was a business move brokered between the league office, Jeanie’s people, Mark and the Mavs ownership (who benefit from long-term league favor if they play ball).

think about it, the dude has massive MLB, global sports, and media ties. Dodgers have been a $$$ printing machine. NBA wants that blueprint on the Lakers. Luka makes it 10x easier to sell him the team at a monster price.

so basically:

NBA leans on the Mavs (new owners who want Vegas favors anyway) to move Luka → Jeanie gets Luka → Guggenheim gets a global mega-asset ready to mint money → NBA gets a record-setting team sale to boost value to it's TV partner and Jeanie breaks 10 BILLION as a result. We know some of that is sweetener that's going to Silver and Nico too.

and the Mavs? they’ll be repaid, don’t worry. First pick of the draft, watch for fast-tracked All-Star bids, Vegas angles, maybe even cap/tax breaks coming. that’s how it works behind the curtain.

[Effigy]

Yeah, it's very clear that everything involving the Luka trade had way more going on that just a legit trade. Exactly what behind the scenes stuff occurred to make that happen we may never know. But expect to be flamed by people who believe every official story they are told.

[Raps in 4]

Nah, it was all just a series of virtually impossible circumstances occurring in succession. Nothing to see here. Move along now. Rich people play by the rules, just like us poors have to.

[nikster]

So the entire league colluded to make the Buss family more money, a family that is on its way out of a majority ownership stake? And the league needs to boost value to the TV partner through the sale of a franchise (how does that make sense) when they have 10 years remaining on thr TV contract? And you think the difference in Luka vs AD is increasing the valuation of a franchise by 1 to 2 billion? And somehow the new owner was part of this collusion and wanted to buy the franchise at this several billion dollar premium?

[CraftylikeaFox]

I respect the fact this is coming from a Laker fan

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

It's completely improbable that the guy who reset the market for sports teams by bidding $2B+ for the Dodgers, then acquired a big piece of the Lakers in 2021, might then make a huge offer for the rest of the Lakers, so huge the Buss family might accept

Conspiracy theory involving Silver and the Mavs GM makes more sense

[bovice]

a rising tide lifts all boats. a key concept a lot of you seem to not understand

[UglyBugBall]

So the entire league colluded to make the Buss family more money, a family that is on its way out of a majority ownership stake? And the league needs to boost value to the TV partner through the sale of a franchise (how does that make sense) when they have 10 years remaining on thr TV contract? And you think the difference in Luka vs AD is increasing the valuation of a franchise by 1 to 2 billion? And somehow the new owner was part of this collusion and wanted to buy the franchise at this several billion dollar premium?

Think bigger. This was never about making the Buss family more money. That is just a side effect. The TV deal is done, but it is already underperforming for the platforms. NBA viewership is down. So why did the networks overpay? Because the NBA pitched future growth, higher global value, rising franchise valuations, and a more marketable league. Turning the Lakers into a cash cow again is a huge part of that strategy. A record-setting Lakers sale sets a new bar for all franchises. If one team sells for nine or ten billion, suddenly every other owner’s valuation jumps. That directly benefits all owners and props up the league for future revenue streams through international rights, streaming deals, gambling partnerships, and global merchandising. Luka plus LeBron plus the Lakers brand becomes a global juggernaut, and a percentage of that global revenue flows back to the league and is shared with all teams through revenue sharing. Every owner wants that.

Why would the new owner pay a premium? Because this was brokered from the start. Guggenheim wants the team, and the NBA absolutely wants them in. Proven sports ownership, massive media connections, big money. But to justify the price, the Lakers needed to be hot again. The Luka deal happens, media hype builds, and the premium locks in. And you also need to convince Jeanie to finally sell after refusing for decades. The offer had to be so high she could not say no, and to get there, you had to drive up the team’s value first.

Why would the Mavs do it? Simple. Their new owners are heavily tied to Vegas money. The NBA wants Vegas expansion done cleanly and will reward teams that play along. The Mavs will get favors, All Star hosting, expansion stakes, future perks, but most importantly, Vegas. Gambling is a core strategy of the league now.

This was not just a trade. It unlocked billions in value between the Lakers sale, Vegas expansion, and future deals. Follow the money.

[Raps in 4]

a rising tide lifts all boats. a key concept a lot of you seem to not understand

That is literally the business model of the NBA, yet people choose to ignore it.

[djsunyc]

It's completely improbable that the guy who reset the market for sports teams by bidding $2B+ for the Dodgers, then acquired a big piece of the Lakers in 2021, might then make a huge offer for the rest of the Lakers, so huge the Buss family might accept

Conspiracy theory involving Silver and the Mavs GM makes more sense

well it was saudi. and some of that 10 bil goes to the other owners. so if saudi wanted a star, i dont think the mavs owners wouldve minded too much considering the check they are going to get.

[maxpower8888]

You're close OP, but the REAL conspiracy that the NBA doesn't want you to know about is how the Luka trade is really the driving force behind the Israel-Iran conflict,

[itrsteve]

While I'm always hesitant to jump to conspiracies, but this was an odd stretch of time given the lopsided trade, odds defying #1 with potentially the next big thing available and not a record-setting franchise sale.

How many months has it been? four?

That's a lot of action in a short period of time.

[Johnny Fontane]

Sounds plausible. An nba franchise getting sold for 10 billion certainly is amazing for the league as a whole. Guaranteed all nba franchises valuations go up after this

[The Master]

I still don't think that it was orchestrated - mainly because Dallas were super close to make the playoffs and didn't make it due to external factors (Kyrie tearing his ACL), so them getting Flagg was super random.

That being said, in the world of conspiracy theories - last four months have been quite easy to analyze in this fashion. Lakers getting young superstar for half price, then being sold in historical transaction, while the team trading this young superstar for half price miraculously gets another young superstar in the making with 1% odds. Yeah, I can easily understand why someone may believe it was rigged.

[JShuttlesworth]

You lost me at Superteam

[pipfan]

I am usually VERY doubtful of conspiracy theories in general, and I don't believe the NBA is rigged. But this sequence is pretty crazy
1-Luka trade, if one of us posted that deal it would have been locked
2-Dallas getting Flagg (of course, it's just "probability")
3-Sale of the Lakers helps everyone. With expansion coming, this will increase buy in prices, and this increases the value of all franchises

I hate to say it, but I think this is legit, the fix has been in

[holdenwait]

its funny if they were thinking they are being slick... like the manipulation couldn't be more obvious now that this sale has surfaced.

[MrTribbiani]

Nico is just a dumbass GM. It baffles me the extent to which some folks are willing to make excuses for dumbass front offices.

[dhsilv2]

The TV deal is done, but it is already underperforming for the platforms. NBA viewership is down. So why did the networks overpay? Because the NBA pitched future growth, higher global value, rising franchise valuations, and a more marketable league.

Ratings ended the year down a whole 2%. And the playoffs before the finals at least for ESPN and ABC were way up. Now obviously the finals aren't great given the two teams...but this constant the ratings are falling is massively incorrect. The biggest drop in ratings was on the NBA's own channel. ABC had solid rating growth.

[Lalouie]

So the entire league colluded to make the Buss family more money, a family that is on its way out of a majority ownership stake? And the league needs to boost value to the TV partner through the sale of a franchise (how does that make sense) when they have 10 years remaining on thr TV contract? And you think the difference in Luka vs AD is increasing the valuation of a franchise by 1 to 2 billion? And somehow the new owner was part of this collusion and wanted to buy the franchise at this several billion dollar premium?

i'm not a conspiracy guy but,,,,,,

here's what the monied do. they ride the train and milk it for all it gets.

you have 30 owner billionaires and what's good for the league is good for each team. the sale of the celts and lakers just made all the teams more valuable

are the other teams all jealous of the celts and lakers??? well maybe, but if so they should be used to it cuz they've been jealous for 60yrs. are the small markets envious of the big markets. yeah, ok, but how much to cut off their nose to spite their face - it's been an ongoing thing, yes? well but what the celts and lakers mean to the league is also a fact

i don't know about all this manipulation stuff but the OP's reasoning are not out of whack. i think everything happened because nico is just stupid, and the laker sale is in line with the celts sale