The entire landscape of the Western Conference may have changed for years to come when the Los Angeles Lakers completed a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. In a conference that will soon be taken over by young stars like Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, the Lakers now have one of their own to build around long-term.
While this decision should have been easy for general manager Rob Pelinka, parting with Anthony Davis and Max Christie is tough due to how much they meant to L.A.
Now that All-Star Weekend is happening this weekend, there is a chance for the players involved to take a step back and get a mental reset. Elsewhere though, the league’s best are together in San Francisco for the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend.
Wembanyama is an All-Star for the first time and while attending the festivities, he commented on the Lakers’ trade for Doncic that will impact him and the rest of the West moving forward into the future.
“I’ve watched games of both the Lakers and Mavs ever since it happened,” Wembanyama said. “But what I remember from it, what really strikes me, is how the Mavs’ fans are hurting, how they feel. It’s really something that I think was a really strong emotion. But otherwise, I think the Mavs are still contenders. The Lakers are contenders. It’s very competitive. They traded for very good players. It’s interesting. We’ll see how it goes. But in two weeks after, it’s still the craziest trade I’ve ever seen.”
When this trade went through, the Mavericks were expected to remain in the mix for a playoff spot. Bringing in Davis along with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, Dallas was expected to be a solid defensive team.
Unfortunately, all three of those centers are sidelined indefinitely with injuries. That does not make the optics of this trade any better and could put the Mavericks in danger of falling out of the Play-In Tournament.
For the Lakers, they are lacking necessary center depth to potentially make a deep postseason run. Although, having Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves is an enticing trio due to their capabilities to play off one another. Wembanyama is not wrong for calling this the craziest trade he’s seen due to the magnitude and seeing how this deal ages will be intriguing to see.
Nikola Jokic believes both Lakers & Mavericks won Luka Doncic trade
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic developed a close friendship with Luka Doncic due to their ties playing internationally. When asked about his thoughts on the blockbuster trade, similar to Victor Wembanyama, Jokic believes that both the Lakers and Mavericks had their respective wins coming out of it.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
