Luka Doncic has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.

No, we haven’t been hacked. It’s time for a MEGA-newsletter.

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Scoot Henderson, Tre Mann, and Enjoyer Jordan! 🎉

The Trade to End All Trades

There are trades. There are surprising trades. There are shocking trades. And then there’s whatever unfolded Saturday night.

In perhaps the most stunning move in NBA history, the Dallas Mavericks traded franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package that included star Lakers big man Anthony Davis. Below are the full details of the deal:

Lakers receive: Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris

Mavericks receive: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick

Jazz receive: Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks

When news of this trade first broke, many assumed that Shams’ Twitter account had been hacked. And rightfully so. This looks less like an official trade and more like a comment on the Lakers’ Instagram account. But here we are, living in the bizarro world that is the NBA.

The additional details surrounding how the deal materialized only added to the shock factor. Despite his popular “LeGM” moniker, LeBron James allegedly had no idea the trade was in the works, nor did Doncic or Davis. Sources also say that it was the Mavericks who approached the Lakers, citing a lack of long-term faith in Doncic due to his “constant conditioning issues,” as well as his impending supermax contract this summer.

Players like Luka are often thought to be untouchable. Doncic’s 28.6 career PPG is the highest for a player at the time he was traded since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was dealt from the Bucks to the Lakers in 1975. The swap also marks the first time two reigning All-NBA players have been traded for one another midseason.

A deal this huge obviously has major implications for both teams, short- and long-term. The Mavericks make the unprecedented decision to move on from a 25-year-old superstar fresh off a Finals berth, but in the process add Davis, a superstar in his own right that better fits GM Nico Harrison’s “defense wins championships” mantra.

But it’s tough to see this deal as anything other than a massive coup for the Lakers. Even if they don’t win a title this season (though their odds significantly increased after the deal) acquiring a player like Doncic for minimal draft capital is a move that will set the franchise up for the next decade plus. Assuming Luka stays in L.A. long-term, he has the chance to be the next in a long line of Laker legends, all because of one stunning trade in the middle of the winter.

(PS: if you needed any more proof of just how unpredictable the NBA is, the league’s stars were just as shocked as us.)

Wemby Gets His Co-Star: Spurs acquire Fox, Bulls send LaVine to Sacramento

As if the NBA trade weekend wasn’t crazy enough, another swap of former All-Stars went down Sunday night as De’Aaron Fox was shipped to San Antonio in a three-team deal that also sent Zach LaVine to the Kings. Below are the full terms of the deal:

Spurs receive: De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin

Kings receive: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2031), and three second-round picks (2025, 2028, 2028)

Bulls receive: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and a 2025 first-round pick

There are a few major implications for this deal: first, Victor-y Wembanyama has a legit co-star for the first time in his young career. The Spurs have already taken a step forward this season, but pairing a star guard like Fox with their Alien center is a recipe for immediate improvement. Fox is only 27, and still has time to grow alongside the sophomore stud. Look out for the return of San Antonio, this year, and for many years to come.

The swap also puts the Kings in an interesting limbo— after trading away one of their franchise players in the prime of his career (which they were essentially forced to after he refused to commit to the franchise long-term) the team has an uncertain direction. SacTown still has plenty of win-now talent on the roster as is, namely Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and LaVine, but the bevy of draft capital they received in this deal typically points toward a rebuild. Whichever way the team goes, we hope there are still plenty of beam lightings in its future.

And for the Bulls, the deal ends a years-long saga of trade rumors around LaVine, finally turning the page on the franchise’s aging core and signaling a youth movement. Chicago has not won a playoff series since 2015, but it seems a new era is finally on the horizon.

Game Recaps

Oh, right. Games happen too. Not just trades.

Wizards snap 16-game losing streak with 105-103 win over T-Wolves

It’s been a difficult season in the nation’s capital, where the Wizards currently own the league’s worst record and are the only franchise yet to reach 10 wins. But the Wiz got one step closer on Saturday night, squeaking past Minnesota for their first win since January 1st.

Kyle Kuzma led the way for Washington, scoring a season-high 31 PTS to lead all scorers. The Wiz also shot 45% from three as a team, with five players hitting two or more triples. Though the Wolves were without Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, they made a last-ditch comeback effort that nearly bore fruit, stealing the ball in the final seconds and getting off a potential go-ahead three. But Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s look was no good, and Washington escaped with a much-needed victory.

Boston overcomes 26-point deficit to beat Philly 118-110

Champs are champs for a reason, and it’s often because they know how to win even in dire situations. That’s exactly what Boston does.

On Sunday night, the Celtics rallied from 26 points down to beat the Sixers on the road, avenging a Christmas Day loss and giving Boston its largest comeback under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Jayson Tatum was the driving force behind the comeback effort, scoring 13 of his 35 PTS in the fourth quarter and adding 11 AST and 7 REB. Philly was without Joel Embiid and Paul George, and a combined 55 PTS from Tyrese Maxey and Guerschon Yabusele were not enough to stave off Boston’s surge.

The Celtics have had a quiet regular season by their lofty standards, but they remain one of the scariest teams in the league, especially when Tatum is at his best. When he’s cooking like this, the rest of the league is in trouble…

Elsewhere around the NBA…

• Oklahoma City’s winning efforts featuring big scoring performances is nothing new, but usually that player is SGA. On Saturday, it was Aaron Wiggins. In a 144-110 blowout win over the Kings, Wiggins dropped a career-high 41 PTS along with 14 REB to help the Thunder improve their stronghold on the top seed in the West.

• Friday’s Bucks-Spurs clash got a little heated, and not because of the fire play from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Wemby. Despite 35 PTS, 14 REB, and 6 AST from Giannis, San Antonio rolled to a 144-118 win thanks in large part to Wemby’s 30 PTS, 14 REB, and 6 BLK. But the game also had some extracurricular activity in the form of beef between Giannis and Chris Paul, which occurred when Giannis took issue with a foul by CP. After trying to speak to Paul after the game, Giannis told the media that “enough is enough” in regard to Paul’s tactics.

• Suns-Blazers was the only game on when news of the Luka-AD trade broke, and as you can imagine, whispers of the trade spread like wildfire across the arena. Portland couldn’t believe it, and neither could Kevin Durant and Devin Booker—the latter of which assumed it had to be a different Luka. 😂

Top Five Monday

In honor of Luka’s departure, let’s break down the top five moments from his brief—but legendary—time in Dallas.

5. When one career ends…

   Luka’s entry into the NBA, as well as his introduction to Dallas, seemed to come at the perfect moment. After an illustrious 21-year career, Mavs great Dirk Nowitzki played his final season in 2019, but not before sharing the court with Dallas’s newest European star. After trading for Doncic during the 2018 Draft, the Mavs enjoyed one year of crossover between the two superstars, with Dirk saying he was less like Luka’s mentor and more like his “elderly friend.”

4. Feeling Lucky (Celtics GW)

   Many know Luka as the Clippers killer, but the newest Laker also has his fair share of history with L.A.’s biggest rival: Boston. In 2021, Luka hit not one, but two game-winners against the Celtics, with one showing off his controlled handle and the other a testament to his ridiculous shot-marking ability. Watch and be amazed.

3. Bubble: Burst

   The 2020 Playoffs are famous for many reasons, primarily for being held in the NBA bubble during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was there that Luka first made his mark as a postseason problem, tearing up the Clippers for 43 PTS in Game 4 of the first round. The most important bucket, however, was the last one, when he sauced forward, stepped back, and delivered a dagger to tie the series at two games apiece.

2. Legendary Company

   There have only been 10 players to score 70 or more points in an NBA game, and Luka sits in the upper echelon of that exclusive club. On January 26, 2024, Doncic faced off with Trae Young and the Hawks, the same player he was traded for during the 2018 Draft. Whether it was matchup motivation or just a red-hot night, Luka delivered a performance for the ages, going 25/33 from the field for 73 PTS, the fourth-most in a single game in league history.

1. Finals Bound

Picking a favorite Luka game-winner is like picking a favorite player: there’s too many great ones to choose from. But if we’re factoring in the implications, his playoff game-winner over Rudy Gobert rises to the top. A series of cool, calculated dribble moves, a slithering step-back, and a ridiculous rainbow over a four-time DPOY to give Dallas a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, do your best to enforce positive thoughts in your day-to-day. It’s amazing what some optimistic self-talk can do for your outlook. See you soon!

-Walker Carnathan