Luka Doncic Is A Laker and All Eyes Are Set On Banner 18

Sitting at the back of the bar around midnight, closing up at work, my semi-troll of a best friend face-timed me with a smirk "Luka to the Lakers". At first, I said shut the hell up, stop lying, that would never happen. "Check X.", he responded. Then, I saw it was true and found an excitement for the Lakers, which I hadn't had since the bubble. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to make the Western Conference finals but in reality, I knew we were cooked against that Nuggets team, especially with Darvin Ham calling the shots.

This news broke the internet last night and I can't imagine being in the shoes of a ball watcher in bed, waking up in a daze, and thinking this is some sort of joke as if April Fools came early to cuck that bastard Punxsutawney Phil on his big day. The trade that was announced had stars of all sports flabbergasted, mostly NBA players who have to now deal with Luka and Lebron at the same time.

No one could believe what Shams just posted. A Shamber alert heard around the world had former Laker Alex Caruso questioning if the NBA Insider was hacked. I don't blame him because I still can't believe it but, my god I AM SO FUCKING EXCITED.

Luka and the Lukers are in full effect. I keep trying to make sense of this trade and what the Mavericks are thinking. Luka Doncic is an All-Pro player coming off a year in which he led the Mavericks over the defending champion Nuggets only to fall short of the Celtics in 5 games. He's 25 years old and a top 5 player in the NBA. So why the hell would you give up your franchise guy for a 31-year-old big who's prone to injuries?

Well according to Mavs GM Nico Harrison who didn't even inform head coach Jason Kidd, "J Kidd and I are aligned and we talk about archetypes and we talk about the culture that we want to create. So I know the type of players that he likes without actually talking to him." Meanwhile, coach Kidd sat there with a thousand-yard stare contemplating walking out of the presser.

The main takeaway I've gathered from the internet is that Luka was nearly 270 pounds, couldn't keep himself in shape, and had obvious holes in his defensive side of the game. Does that worry me as a Lakers fan? Hell no. Also, shocking to hear that Luka, Lebron, or AD had no idea this was coming. (I don't believe Lebron had no idea, his knife is still in AD's back)

What's most shocking, is Harrison sees the exit signs for both himself and Kidd are illuminated if this blows up in their face. "The future to me is three, four years from now, the future 10 years from now, I don't know, I think I.. (chuckle) They probably bury me and J by then."

Now before I get ahead of myself, let's take a look at what this means for both teams rosters.

Mavs:

Starting 5 (projected): PG Kyrie Irving, SG Klay Thompson, SF P.J. Washington, PF Anthony Davis, & C Daniel Gafford.

Key Reserves: Max Christie, Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Naji Marshall, & Dwight Powell

A good roster? Yes. A great roster? No.

With Klay a shell of his former self and AD on the injury report, as I type this, I believe Nico Harrison signed his unemployment form along with this deal. Not to mention Kyrie has a reputation for not being the best teammate or leader which is now the role he's being thrusted back into.

Lakers:

Starting 5 (projected): PG Luka Doncic, SG Austin Reaves, SF Lebron James, PF Rui Hachimura, & C Jaxson Hayes.

Key Reserves: Dorian Finney-Smith, Dalton Knect, Maxi Kleber, Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, & Bronny James (haha jk)

Good roster? Yes. Great roster? No.

Luka and Kleber reunite with former teammates Finney-Smith and Christian Wood, if he returns healthy to the lineup but the Lakers are in dire need of a dynamic big man now to fill the void of AD who was already clambering for help at the Center position by the deadline. A wish I suppose he got since he's playing alongside Gafford in the paint now.

Rob Pelinka and the Lakers are reportedly aggressively pursuing deals for a big man and after what transpired are in WIN NOW mode. Win now for a 40-year-old Lebron James who undoubtedly wants to share a championship with his son and win now because well, they're the Lakers, it's championship or bust every season for a team that refuses to build through the draft. So who to pursue?

Sandos' Short List

Jonas Valanciunas, Nic Claxton, Mitchell Robinson, Myles Turner, & Clint Capela

I don't know enough about current draft compensation on hand for the Lakers but getting a guy like Jonas or Myles would likely be a farewell to rookie Dalton Knect and a pick or two. As for Clint, Nic, and Mitchell, they're all guys who mesh around Luka's play style, rim-running big men who rebound and send shots back the way they came. Any would be preferable to the current big men the Lakers have unless Christian Wood comes back and has comparable numbers to when him and Doncic played together before. Currently Wood is recovering from a setback from knee surgery so that itself is worrying but with the Mavs, he shot 37% from 3 and averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game. That's a big if so I'd say we will see another move soon out of the Lakers version of Rob Lowe.

I'll miss AD of course but the NBA is a brutal business and he's now seen both sides of a trade like this. One that sent him to a place with aspirations of a title chase and one that has everyone thinking Pelinka fleeced the Mavs. Banners fly forever, even the bubble Banner. Big thanks to AD for the 2020 title where he was the most unstoppable force in the league during that run. Legend.

Before I close I just wanted to share the clip of Lebron and JJ talking about Luka on their brief podcast. This shit was written in the stars. Let's go #LakeShow !!!