If he had his time again, Luka would have picked the Knicks over The Lakers

doogie_hauser · Post #1 » by **doogie_hauser** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:15 am

And i honestly defy any Lakers fan to disagree with me.

He and former teammate Brunson would have formed one of the all time lethal Scoring Duos, plus he would have had a formidable supporting cast (that idiot Nico could have gotten a much better return than a broken down AD and Max Christie)

KAT and McBride (hypothetically speaking) would have been a better return for The Mavs.

Luka'a agent really *ed up.

He easily could have made at least 4-5 finals with this Knicks team and F/O, he and the inept Lakers front office have no idea how to build a good team to be a play in contender, let alone play in.

Btw i don't believe for a second the NBA and Silver engineered Luka's move to The Lakers, i think his manager/agent is a simpleton who was too easily influenced by the likes of Rich Paul

Acquiring Luka has arguably also set The Lakers back big time, a lot of Lakers fans seem to think they can ass Giannis and Kessler automatically in the off season and bang contenders again, but the current luxury tax/apron strings and other parity measures prevent just that.

I think this is a massive sliding doors moment in NBA history, one that sadly will tarnish/taint Luka's legacy.

KyRo23 · Post #2 » by **KyRo23** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:29 am

Did he even have a choice? I don't remember him having this option as this was all done in the dark

SlimShady83 · Post #3 » by **SlimShady83** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:30 am

HumbleRen · Post #4 » by **HumbleRen** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:41 am

Lakers are going to open up a bunch of cap space this summer, I’m not sure why people think this roster is going to be what Luka has to play with for the rest of his tenure lol.

bonita_the_frog · Post #5 » by **bonita_the_frog** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:48 am

Mavs front office decided it, no sliding doors moment for Doncic.

JulesWinnfield · Post #6 » by **JulesWinnfield** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 11:16 am

Didn’t seem like he had a choice. And I think it will still work out for him. The Lakers have this habit of superstars just falling out of the sky and into their laps either in free agency or in discount trades. It’s been happening for like half a century. And it will probably happen again

The Master · Post #7 » by **The Master** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 11:21 am

First, like it or not, Lakers will get another all-star/superstar for free/on discount very soon, that's the experience of the last 55 years.

Second, there was no option for Luka to be traded to the Knicks.

FreeBird23 · Post #8 » by **FreeBird23** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 11:47 am

Why would he go to a team that hasn't won anything in over 50 years?

druggas · Post #9 » by **druggas** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 12:09 pm

doogie_hauser wrote:And i honestly defy any Lakers fan to disagree with me.

He and former teammate Brunson would have formed one of the all time lethal Scoring Duos, plus he would have had a formidable supporting cast (that idiot Nico could have gotten a much better return than a broken down AD and Max Christie)

KAT and McBride (hypothetically speaking) would have been a better return for The Mavs.

Luka'a agent really *ed up.

He easily could have made at least 4-5 finals with this Knicks team and F/O, he and the inept Lakers front office have no idea how to build a good team to be a play in contender, let alone play in.

Btw i don't believe for a second the NBA and Silver engineered Luka's move to The Lakers, i think his manager/agent is a simpleton who was too easily influenced by the likes of Rich Paul

Acquiring Luka has arguably also set The Lakers back big time, a lot of Lakers fans seem to think they can ass Giannis and Kessler automatically in the off season and bang contenders again, but the current luxury tax/apron strings and other parity measures prevent just that.

I think this is a massive sliding doors moment in NBA history, one that sadly will tarnish/taint Luka's legacy.

Everyone will disagree with you. Lakers build championships. I dare you to disagree with me.

doogie_hauser · Post #10 » by **doogie_hauser** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 12:41 pm

The Master wrote:First, like it or not, Lakers will get another all-star/superstar for free/on discount very soon, that's the experience of the last 55 years.

Second, there was no option for Luka to be traded to the Knicks.

We don't know that do we ?

Also the current NBA tax and apron rules makes it almost impossible for the Lakers to buy their way to a chip line they do in the past

Lets be honest here, Luka had a far bigger chance winning a ring in the East than the Fakers in the West, esp with that clown Pelinka running the show (although Bill Simmons in his latest podcast suggets Pelinka will be let go after the Lakers season ends)

The Master · Post #11 » by **The Master** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:36 pm

doogie_hauser wrote:
Also the current NBA tax and apron rules makes it almost impossible for the Lakers to buy their way to a chip line they do in the past

In theory, yeah, I don't think you can create a contender without young guys on cheaper contracts/'homegrown' talent. In reality, they got Wilt, Karem, Magic, Worthy, Shaq, and LeBron for Gail Goodrich and some scrubs combined, so they'll always find a way.

r0drig0lac · Post #12 » by **r0drig0lac** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:43 pm

bonita_the_frog · Post #13 » by **bonita_the_frog** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:47 pm

JulesWinnfield wrote:Didn’t seem like he had a choice. And I think it will still work out for him. The Lakers have this habit of superstars just falling out of the sky and into their laps either in free agency or in discount trades. It’s been happening for like half a century. And it will probably happen again

The Master wrote:First, like it or not, Lakers will get another all-star/superstar for free/on discount very soon, that's the experience of the last 55 years.

Even if the Lakers get a another superstar, it won't be enough to win a championship if its just another offensive superstar...
They still won't have good enough defense to win a championship, and adding to offense is useless because there's only one ball.
Plus they'll still be at the mercy of Doncic's streaky shooting, because he'll still have the ball more than anyone.

Post #14 » by **og15** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:50 pm

He didn't have his time in the first place. He was mad and stunned by the trade. Not sure what you think he was supposed to do.

No, I don't think Luka would've chosen to pair up with 40 year old Lebron who is not even a good fit with him game wise if it was his choice, which it wasn't.

TheGeneral99 · Post #15 » by **TheGeneral99** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:56 pm

Lol what?

Nico didn't consult with Luka before trading him...that was the whole **** controversy of this trade...come on, OP.

sp6r=underrated · Post #16 » by **sp6r=underrated** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 2:05 pm

Why do people who think it is fixed follow it?

JustBuzzin · Post #17 » by **JustBuzzin** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 2:30 pm

KyRo23 wrote:Did he even have a choice? I don't remember him having this option as this was all done in the dark

Speak on this dark?

Do you mean it was some shady business behind the scenes?

I mean look at how everything played out for example.

1. Mavs won the lottery get Cooper Flagg
2. Jeanie Buss sells the team after the biggest trade in their history. Never made sense.
3. Nico fired not even a year later and AS traded for pennies on the dollar.

NBA aka AYNEL Are You Not Engertained League

Tottery · Post #18 » by **Tottery** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 3:46 pm

He didn't have a choice. Most fans knew this was a throwaway season before it began. The Lakers will have more first round picks and the most cap space in the off season. Though, no one should have faith in Pelinka to make the right decisions. Time will tell with Luka.

ball_takes23 · Post #19 » by **ball_takes23** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 4:36 pm

HumbleRen wrote:Lakers are going to open up a bunch of cap space this summer, I’m not sure why people think this roster is going to be what Luka has to play with for the rest of his tenure lol.

people don't want to admit that Lebron is the primary problem with the team so they make up this narrative that the Lakers will be bad forever even once Lebron leaves this summer. there is not a single team in the league that would be able to take on Lebron's bloated $53 million contract and still be able to contend for a title.

sure, they have other problems too, but they will be able to address them once they get rid of the $53M anchor weighing them down along with Maxi and Rui's bloated contracts as well. It would not be surprising at all to see the Lakers contending next year, just look at how fast the Suns were able to turn things around just by breaking up their disjointed big 3, without even adding a star player to replace them. And the Suns were thought to be in one of the worst cap situations in the league, they were in way worse cap hell than the lakers are this year and have still manages to turn things around in one summer despite having major injury issues to most of their best players this season.

Snakebites · Post #20 » by **Snakebites** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 4:37 pm

He picked the Mavericks. They just didn't pick him.