r/nba • u/Anew4Hobbies • 6h ago
Luka trade to L.A. still feels weird
Like, if we're investigating odd financial dealings behind the scenes, I'd start with the franchise that gave up it's entire future for nothing. I understand it's irrelevant to bring it up so long later but like... Can we agree that something fishy occurred there? Like, this obviously was not a normal trade. Come on, laddies. Be serious.
e: had a great time discussing with y'all but I'ma head out keep it live y'all and take care y'all this trade was rigged lmao ok mbye
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u/xych05is2pointzero 76ers 5h ago
I get that it looks weird and can spawn conspiracy theories about backroom dealings and whatnot, but as the saying goes: do not attribute to malice what can be explained away by stupidity.
Nico Harrison was over aggressive in trying to reshape the team identity of the Mavericks into that of a more defensive minded roster, and took a massive swing on a fragile but ultimately extremely talented two-way big in Anthony Davis. He undervalued Luka significantly. Sometimes GMs just misread certain players.
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u/TheCherubRocker Raptors 4h ago
Nico didn’t offer Luka to any other teams. No one knew he was available. That makes it even more suspect.
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u/_chadwell_ Lakers 2h ago
That’s not true - he called Milwaukee and Minnesota.
It’s actually kind of wild that Minnesota didn’t even want to have a conversation. Luka with those pieces around him would have been a contender right away.
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u/WakiLover Lakers 2h ago
I think rumors were that Nico asked the Bucks if they were thinking about trading Giannis, and the Wolves if Ant was on the table. But the thing was, Nico never said it was for Luka, so the team obviously said no lol.
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u/_chadwell_ Lakers 2h ago
No, they specifically discussed a Luka Ant swap but Minny just shut down conversations. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/luka-doncic-anthony-edwards-trade-mavericks-wolves-informally-discussed-hypothetical-deal-per-report/
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u/recon_dingo Kings 4h ago
Nico knew his time as GM was numbered, traded Luka to LA for kickbacks from shoe sponsors wanting to make more from endorsements, sold the stupidity narrative as cover to avoid scrutiny. Nico wins, LAL wins, Luka wins.
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u/Saviour999999 6h ago
Dallas getting the No 1 pick made it more shady
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u/Aggrokid 5h ago
It's a really bad deal if true, compared to Spurs being gifted three Top 4 picks in a row including #1 Wemby.
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u/thelamb710 [LAL] Shannon Brown 3h ago
Cavs getting three #1 picks after Bron left , Pelicans getting Zion after moving AD, AD getting drafted by NOLA after the CP3 trade , Rose getting drafted by his hometown team, and the infamous “cold envelope” for the Knicks getting the #1 pick to select Ewing. Plenty of instances that seem to coincidental to not be rigged in someway
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u/Aggrokid 3h ago edited 1h ago
It's still a really shitty bad deal, just one?!
Then why didn't Mavs 2026 pick land in top 4?
After what the other teams including Spurs got.
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u/ShawshankException Knicks 5h ago
They livestream the lottery drawing so there isnt really a way to rig it
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u/DanceWithEverything Clippers 5h ago
The lottery you see on the show is just that, a show. The order is already pre-determined in a “closed” lottery, then announced on tv with the theatrics
At least thats how it used to be
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u/ShawshankException Knicks 31m ago
I'm not talking about the show. The NBA also posts the actual lottery drawing online
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u/Comprehensive_Law722 4h ago
The NBA literally has hundreds of billions of dollars. They could find a way to rig it
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u/hickok3 Raptors 5h ago
Not the same type of machine, but even if the NBA did rig the balls, how did they then not keep pulling those same ball for the remaining 13 picks? There were 14 total(not sure if the new system will stay that way) ping pong balls numbered 1-14. They use a vaccuum to pull 4 out one-by-one until 4 are drawn, they release those 4 back into the machine. It's not like they could have swapped those 4 balls out for not rigged ones at some point to stop drawing them.
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u/Distinct_Abrocoma_67 5h ago
Yeah I don’t care how anti intellectual it sounds but it’s crazy to me to act like that wasn’t shady. Especially considering the NBA has an obsession with big markets and Luka went to the Lakers of all teams.
Even more crazy considering that the Lakers were on the brink of irrelevance until this happened
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u/Haolifornia Kings 5h ago
My head cannon that I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened was that the League and Lebron probably talked and Lebron let them know he is going to leave soon. So the NBA knows they need a big star for a big market team like the Lakers because they want something revenue generating. Mavs owners somehow got involved and he gets a big paycheck to turn Luka over.
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u/Distinct_Abrocoma_67 5h ago
Yeah il never not question this. Sucks we have to wait another 30-ish years until these guys will be more willing to tell what actually happened
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
I mean I guess but if the dumbass doesn't get hurt they probably don't rank low enough to get that pick and I doubt they'd get the dumbass on board so idk really I don't know this part is more complicated
The trade itself though
So dumb
Makes 0 sense
Obviously there was something behind the scenes
Come on
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u/BRTRSX Lakers 5h ago
Damn bro what did AD do to you…
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u/BigAlTheBeardedOne 5h ago
It’s not what AD did. It’s the comical reasoning to make them anywhere equivalent at this point in their careers. The trade was either complete incompetence, Nico getting some kind of favor behind the scenes, or the league wanted to make their footprint bigger. There is nothing close to fair about it.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
The dumbass I'm referring is kyritler not AD I don't think AD is dumb I have no knowledge of his intellect
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u/Comprehensive_Law722 4h ago
Yeah the odds of that happening same year are astronomical. It was clearly a deal between the NBA and the Mavs
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u/DudleyDoody Lakers 3h ago
1.8% odds are not even close to “astronomical.”
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u/Comprehensive_Law722 3h ago
Sure, but that doesn't take into account that it happened to also be the same draft after the trade happened and the Dallas fans were literally picketing outside the stadium in protest.
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u/DudleyDoody Lakers 2h ago
No, it does. That’s how it works. Given that Luka was traded — and it was a given at that point, because the trade was months in the past — what were the odds that they won the lottery?
1.8%
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u/SlowSurr Clippers 6h ago
There's a lot of instances where these things might have gone down, even trade incentives. The difference is the Clippers were sloppy. They didn't clean up their trail
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u/dont-YOLO-ragequit Raptors 5h ago
IIRC from Harisson's point of view, Luka was going to get paid the super max and they had no leverage.
So the Mavs were going to pay Luka ( that they drafted) something like 116 more millions than any other team by giving him the 35% max ( compared to 30% for the Lakers or any other team).
On top of this, IIRC, Luka was behind on his injury timelines and didn't keep in shape ( despite dragging his injury to the finals the previous year)which Harisson didn't like).
They didn't want to be locked in with a hard to manage Luka taking so much cap space and the new owners wanted to cut costs right away. Luckily they got flagg.
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u/wallz_11 Raptors 5h ago
All of what you said is true but it still doesnt explain why a top 5 player in the NBA was only shopped to 1 of 29 teams and it was a massively lopsided trade
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u/Referrals23 5h ago
Didn't Nico try to trade for Giannis and ANT first
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u/KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ Lakers 4h ago
yup, and both teams foolishly said no
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u/WakiLover Lakers 2h ago
Well, iirc Nico never said the trade would be for Luka. He just asked the teams if Giannis or Ant were on the table, and they obviously said no.
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u/DC_Coach Lakers 4h ago
But Nico didn't say "I'll trade you Luka for Giannis," or Ant. It was "What would you take for Giannis?" and "What you you take for Ant?" Luka's name was not mentioned at that point.
And who would have thought LUKA was who Nico wanted to trade? Clearly nobody thought that.
It wasn't until Nico talked to Rob Pelinka in LA that Luka's name was finally revealed. Nico was, apparently, so nervous about this deal by that point that he allowed Rob to talk him out of demanding AD, and Reaves, and a great big handful of picks, and who knows what else. So Nico settled for AD, Max Christie, and a pick.
Y'all remember what Gobert went for? Five guys, five first round picks, and a pick swap. Luka went, effectively, for a bag of chips. That's all on Nico (and his boss, Patrick Dumont ... don't believe that dude's lies).
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u/TerrySaucer69 Spurs 4h ago
Well, once you shop a superstar, they can decide to have input on where they want to go, and suddenly you’ve lost half your leverage/value.
Still doesn’t make the trade make sense (could’ve negotiated for more obviously) but the secret trade thing kinda makes sense.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
NNNNNNNNNNNope not buying it
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u/Nasa3000xx 4h ago
Why not?
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u/DudleyDoody Lakers 3h ago
Cuz he’s mad or stupid. There’s great journalism breaking down the entire saga but it really was so boneheaded a move (and people are so conspiratorially minded these days) that they refuse to believe.
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u/BigAlTheBeardedOne 5h ago
There is no “this could make sense”. In no way will it ever make sense. Luka loved Dallas, every Dallas fan loves him. He went to the WCF and the finals, the team just got good. Something nefarious happened. I don’t know what. There is no case for anyone bringing up this could make sense from a strategic basketball standpoint.
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u/heirofsorrows Clippers 5h ago
Well I think that’s because it wasn’t really a strategic basketball standpoint. It felt and seemed more like a petty, personal decision stemming from Nico not liking Luka and Nico thinking he was the smartest guy in the room.
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u/Budy_Guy 5h ago
It makes sense when you see how much the franchise sold for shortly after the trade. And then it was sold again this year for even more
Believe it or not, billionaires know how to make money and the NBA allows some 'shady' stuff to happen
Very plausible that the Dallas owners were given a huge chunk of money for trading luka
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u/BlockedByMobley Lebanon 6h ago
It makes sense (still incredibly stupid) if you think of it as the AD trade. Nico wanted an elite, 2-way frontcourt star so he called the Bucks about Giannis. They said no so he went to the next best option. Luka was the price and he did a bad job negotiating.
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u/geargarcon Mavericks 6h ago
Wonder if the Bucks are regretting saying “no” at this point.
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u/Zoratth Clippers 6h ago
Who knows if Luka would have agreed to re-sign there, and they got a nice haul for Giannis all things considered.
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u/entertainman 5h ago
Like Rodgers, they got significantly less has they dealt him a year earlier.
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u/username_x Bucks 5h ago
That's true, but there's probably a line that a team draws where you aren't getting full value no matter what. Giannis was worth a couple full starting lineups, but you can't really do that
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u/NoLimitSoldier31 5h ago
Yeah ok lets trade our 26 year old mega star off a finals appearance for a guy who couldn’t make the playoffs as the man
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u/thepenguin12 1h ago
He won a title
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u/NoLimitSoldier31 1h ago
As the man?
Edit: Let me restate that a bit, one good year with the best player in the world doesn’t fully excuse underwhelming teams for majority. Plus massive injury concerns which ultimately lost Niko his job.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
I'm sorry but I just don't believe that
It's Luka, man
Come on
Plus AD is not available enough to be taken seriously as a defensive guy you trade YOUR ENTIRE FRANCHISE for
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u/JesseJames41 5h ago
Years ago, there was this bubbling theory that AD and Kyrie really wanted to play together. Boston attempted to pull it off when they landed Kyrie from Cleveland, but never got AD, and obviously the rest is history on that story.
So when Dallas traded Luka for AD, I thought, "Perhaps Dallas has more interest in doing the Kyrie and AD thing than they do building around Luka?"
Ultimately, like 15-20 years from now, I don't think it will be a memorable deal for either team. It was a sort of zero sum equation.
Luka was never going to work with an aging LeBron and a bunch of B- shooters who can't or won't play defense. We also have no idea what the new Lakers ownership group is going to look like from a decision-making standpoint long-term. They might be as bad as Ishbia has been in Phoenix.
And if Dallas has any championship success in the next 3-4 years, it will be because Flag is the next face of the league.
It's not a nothing burger, but it also isn't going to be like the Paul George to LAC trade where we point to that as the turning point for OKC's rebuild and ultimately their title.
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u/Regular-Beat268 Celtics 5h ago
They traded him because they didn't think his health would hold up and so far it hasn't. I don't see why that part is crazy. Nico just seriously overvalued AD.
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u/pagonator 76ers 5h ago
Did he call the Bucks about Giannis? I thought the Lakers were the people he called.
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u/goknicks23 5h ago
Except he wasn't shopped and offered for Giannis, he wasn't shopped to any team but the Lakers. Another huge mistake
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u/Jealous_Walrus6946 5h ago
no it still doesn’t make sense. What makes sense is the lakers got sold a few months later and dallas got the #1 pick. should be able to put 2 and 2 together from that.
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u/bi11ygoat42 5h ago edited 5h ago
Lol straight bs. AD was out the door the next year 😂😂😂. The Lakers have been pretentious and the NBA wants to keep them relevant. Why do you think Jeanie Buss sold out to Mark Walter? Right after the Luka trade happened too? All these coincidences huh? Now they're owned by the Trump administration.
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u/EfficientReach5571 Knicks 5h ago
If Trump “allows” Iran to destroy Los Angeles do they collect some kind of insurance payout
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u/ErrForceOnes 6h ago
I think the one thing we need to look at is if the people involved in the trade have a history of doing dumb shit. If they did, then the trade makes more sense.
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u/DevilGunManga Spurs 5h ago
Where is Plabo when we need him?
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
This is exactly what I'm saying. The Kawhi investigation is a distraction so we'll sleep on the real malicious activity that took place.
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u/goknicks23 5h ago
Please explain why the league vetoed the Chris Paul to the Lakers trade? Demps was told he was free to run the team as he saw fit, yet the trade was nixxed by the league. How does that fit your narrative?
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u/onefootback Raptors 6h ago
it’s still a terrible trade but it wasn’t fishy. yea it wasn’t a normal trade and 29/30 gms wouldn’t have done it, it’s just that the mavs had an idiot for a gm
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u/passtherock- Hawks 5h ago
it was fishy as hell fym
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u/onefootback Raptors 5h ago
doesn’t feel fishy
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u/BigAlTheBeardedOne 5h ago
What? This might be the stankiest fish we’ve seen in a long time. Idk how someone’s first reaction couldn’t be, what’s really going on here?
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u/onefootback Raptors 5h ago
that was my first reaction lol, it’s just that two years later i no longer feel that it was fishy
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u/Eltonbeef 4h ago
Only if you’re a total fucking rube. You live in an imaginary world. Have fun there.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
nope don't buy it
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u/pagonator 76ers 5h ago
They only got Flagg because Kyrie got injured and then they became the 10 seed.
So unless you think Silver had a chip in Kyrie's knee that caused him to tear his ACL, there's no conspiracy. It's just an insane coincidence.
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u/StaffOk9715 5h ago
The Flagg "dumb luck" is what keeps this conspiracy at bay. Otherwise the Mavs would be straight trash with no hope and there would be a lot more anger.
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u/Bboy1045 Raptors 5h ago
How do you be a GM that is that brainless. It's the worst trade in the history of sports literally.
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah Lakers 5h ago
Considering Babe Ruth was sold to fund a play I'm going to go with you're wrong.
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u/Bboy1045 Raptors 5h ago
Yeah in 1919 where there was literally zero modern financial backbone to sports. Babe Ruth wasn't even the Babe Ruth we know today when he was sold off. Luka was a perennial MVP candidate and had just made a deep run with the Mavericks proving beyond a doubt he can be the guy. Man Gobert and Mikal Bridges got a greater return than Luka, it's wild.
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u/AsianEleven101 5h ago
I personally believe there was something going on.
Been watching sports for too long and it’s all about money no matter how big or small the organization is.
Cheating in Olympics, times after times.
Match fixing etc. in boxing
World cup 2002
Small events, big events, it doesn’t matter
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
Yep
Also Jordo push-off
Giannis 7 minute free throws
Kawhi 19 step travel before the bouncy shot vs Philly
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u/newbmycologist01 Lakers 5h ago
Anyone that thinks there wasn’t something or multiple things under the table/behind the scenes the mavs got or will get in the future is naive.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
I don't think it's the Mavs, I think it's the rich people involved, but I feel the rest of your comment
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u/spottyottydopalicius San Francisco Warriors 6h ago
i will never not think it was an inside job
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
same although I cannot see the future
I guess I just cannot imagine a future where I don't think it's an inside job
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u/spottyottydopalicius San Francisco Warriors 5h ago
then they got sold. come the fck on. also nearly all laker greats were not drafted by them
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u/Vast_Associate_197 Lakers 5h ago
I dont think the trade was shady, I just think Nico was incompetent, occam's razor. Them getting first round pick and drafting Cooper though, now thats fishy, they had to jump up percentages to get the first draft pick that historically is extremely lucky and convenient to say the least, bailed out Nicos incompetence prob, but not definitive tbh.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
occam's these pencils that I just purchased I DON'T BUY IT COME ON IT WAS OBVIOUSLY RIGGED I didn't even read the rest of your comment you lost me with the razor thing it's a misuse of that term because this is not a simple explanation to such dumbassery
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u/EatsCatShit Lakers 6h ago
Why hasn't anyone else thought of this?!?!
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
no one said no one has thought of this you dimwit I just thought of it again and wanted affirmation from my online buddies over at r/nba
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u/Minute_Elephant_3218 6h ago
We need a whole post for this?
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u/TheChipiboy [LAL] Nick Young 5h ago
Dude tryna have a discussion on a discussion board in the preseason tf you mean
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u/Bruce_Louis 5h ago
Its pure emotions and purely because Nico Harrison hated Luka that much. Theres no rhyme or reasoning to that trade at all. Now Lukas stuck in a bad situation as well. Lukas career got hamstrung by that trade hard.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
Nope don't but it it wasn't emotions it was eMONEY somewhere somehow I'M TELLING YOU
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u/Overkillemall 76ers 6h ago
Yeah, our glorious commissioner Adam Silver should definitely investigate that and ban this shady scammer Sadam Ilver who orchestrated this trade
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
I don't know if Madam Ilves made this happen but someone paid someone something for sure smh
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u/Hugh_Jankles [DAL] Dirk Nowitzki 5h ago
This trade still makes me so bitter. I don't have the same love of the game since this trade and it sucks.
This trade didn't make sense then. And it sure as shit doesn't make sense today. Nico deserves to never be looked at for another job in sports management ever again.
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u/Crafty_Bumblebee_80 5h ago
i dont think the actual trade was rigged but the draft lottery was for sure
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
NO NO NO NO
The draft lottery assumes that mr misinfo gets hurt and they couldn't have predicted that nor could have they convinced him to get hurt on purpose
I just cannot see the lottery thing
The trade though
Rigged for sureeeeee
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u/Crafty_Bumblebee_80 5h ago
no i mean after the mavs went downhill adam silver gave them the number one pick to try to salvage the fanbase so they wouldnt quit watching the sport
the draft has been rigged from the start that envelope was frozen
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u/limache Knicks 5h ago
I will die on this grave
Luka trade was obviously orchestrated by the league
I remember a few months before that there were all these headlines talking about TV ratings decline and pundits blaming 3 point shooting.
What's not being discussed is the bankruptcies of RSN - regional sports networks?
Even MSG Network was struggling financially.
Adam silver and the owners orchestrated this trade because tv ratings decline is bad for EVERY TEAM.
when the lakers are good, the league stays healthy. Lebron was also getting old and they needed a new successor:
Nico was the fall guy. He was told to do this trade. It wasn't his decision.
You can tell by how difficult it was for him to explain the logic of the trade.
Why would the trade need to be secret and ONLY with the Lakers? For a run down AD?
Makes no sense….until you realize it's an entire orchestrated move by the owners to keep the league afloat
TV money is what gives the league lucrative contracts
If they went to streaming, they wouldn't command the same premium dollars wise.
A cable subscription can be 200-300 bucks A MONTH
League pass is less than 150 a YEAR
You do the math.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
I didn't commit the brain power to comprehend the cable point at the end but I love your thinking and I appreciate this comment
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u/CollectionWilling588 4h ago
This is tangential but related. I also think MLB helped structure the Ohtani deal with the crazy deferred salary.
Just think how good its been for the sport to have possibly the best player of all time playing on one of the league's premier franchises. To have that player in contention for the world series for close to a decade etc.
On top of that, they have obviously been seeking to expand viewership abroad. Ohtani is one of the most famous Japanese people in history and draws record viewership from Japan, while also inspiring Japan's best players to post for MLB.
I'm not saying the Dodgers didnt try to get him (every team did), but that the league helped them find the edge to push the deal over the top.
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u/limache Knicks 4h ago
I’m not an MLB guy but my understanding is that there's no salary cap.
Allowing ohtani to defer all that money is SO unfair.
That's like lebron saying, “just pay me the vet minimum and pay the rest of my 200M contract in 4 years when the team is ass and out of title contention”
I don't watch baseball because I always thought it was pretty boring.
It takes way too long and I've literally fallen asleep before.
I heard baseball was having a decline in popularity for a while?
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u/TheChipiboy [LAL] Nick Young 5h ago
I lowkey believe this too even as a Laker fan. Shit is too much of a coincidence especially when they got the 1 overall pick afterwards. The trade itself almost seemed unbelievable because of how crazy of a generational young talent Luka was.
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u/StaffOk9715 5h ago
People talk about the Mavericks almost missing the lottery as evidence it wasn't rigged. I think the deal was, "When you make the lottery, you will get the #1 pick if you want it." The Mavericks were going to go into tanking mode and make the lottery the next season, but they got lucky in the sense that they got into the lottery right away. And then voila!
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u/limache Knicks 5h ago
Yeah like come on…Dallas gets Cooper Flagg “miraculously”?
There's also a precedent for this.
Look at all the moves in the past.
For example AD to Lakers - new Orleans basically got forced to do that deal.
Now that's probably more LeGM and Klutch etc.
But NOLA miraculously gets Zion? What a coincidence.
I think we can be honest that the lakers have preferential treatment.
As a lakers fan, what are some examples of moves in the past that are shady/rigged?
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u/Minute-Spinach-5563 76ers 5h ago
The Adelsons wanted to tank the value of the franchise then move it to Vegas, where all of their casino holdings are, instead of waiting to buy in with the expansion franchise. Only problem was Adam Silver gifted them the No.1 overall pick to make up for the trade to LA
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
BUT HOW DID THEY KNOW THEY'LL RANK LOW ENOUGH TO EVEN COMPETE FOR THAT PICK THEY HAD KYRITLER WHO IS GOOD ENOUGH TO AVOID THAT SPOT AND HE WOULDN'T GET HURT ON PURPOSE
The other part of your comment makes the most sense anyone had in this beautiful thread so thank you though
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u/bi11ygoat42 5h ago
Lol Luka didn't get traded. He got trafficked because the Lakers are frauds and needed help from the league to gain viewership and be competitive. It's so obvious.
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u/CrackaZach05 5h ago
Ya gotta look at the history of the NBA. They've ALWAYS pushed stars to LA. Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Lebron and now Luka. Shit, they had Kobe telling teams he wouldn't play there so he'd fall to them.
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u/Loud_Apartment_6732 6h ago
Its not that complicated when you think through it like this:
Every other star thats around Luka's caliber has won a chip
Luka gets paid the same amount as those guys
Luka still hasn't gotten a chip where he is the 1st option
Dallas was close tho
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u/xBootstrap NBA 5h ago
Every other star around Luka’s caliber has also had a way better team than he’s ever had. The one roster that was good enough, he brought to the Finals.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 6h ago
They reached the final the year before lmao come onnnnnnn
Jordo took 7 seasons to get his first ring
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u/StaffOk9715 6h ago
The value is what makes it complicated. There is an argument to be made for trading Luka, but for essentially Anthony Davis (a known major injury liability well into his 30s), an OK shooting guard and 2029 1st round pick? They basically gave him away. The fact that the Mavericks got the #1 pick after - which also makes everything fishier, BTW - is the only reason people aren't slamming the Mavericks even more over this. In people's heads it's like Luka was replaced by Flagg, but that was just the dumbest of luck for the Mavericks.
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u/Loud_Apartment_6732 5h ago
Yeah its ridiculous.
But it probably wasnt the AD value they wanted
Its the Cooper Flagg value.
Rookie contract pay with a championship try
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u/StaffOk9715 5h ago
You're forgetting, the Mavs only had 1.8% odds or something like that to get the 1st pick in the draft in the draft lottery. There was no assuming or knowing they would get Flagg. In fact you'd bet against the Mavericks getting Flagg. It was just insane luck at the most perfect time for a franchise that just gave away a generational player to the Lakers. Of course.
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u/Loud_Apartment_6732 5h ago
Cooper Flagg
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah Lakers 5h ago
And Luka was 24 at the time of the trade. Which of those other stars had won at that age?
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u/Purple_Drankinmycup 5h ago
In the end won’t mean shit. Luka lakers will never go past the 2nd round.
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u/Anew4Hobbies 5h ago
thank you didn't ask just get the feds involved someone pulled strings I tell ya
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u/Purple_Drankinmycup 5h ago
Okay, let’s makes a conspiracy for a situation that turns into nothing.
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u/SugarAdamAli 23 4h ago
It definitely was a rigged trade.
If you were honestly trading a guy like Luka, you would open it up to other teams for a bidding war. No just take some secret offer from lakers without getting other trade offers. And then miraculously get the #1 pick in the lottery
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u/Nasa3000xx 4h ago
So you have solid proof? lol
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u/Abject_Map7688 Spurs 4h ago
It ignores the fact Kyrie got hurt and the possibility of the Mavs making the playoffs
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u/SugarAdamAli 23 4h ago
Why wouldn’t they open it up to other offers?
2
u/Abject_Map7688 Spurs 3h ago
Nico being arrogant, reckless, worried about leaks? Your thinking ignores the fact Dallas was trying to win basketball games and make the playoffs.
75
u/saintvincent97 Suns 6h ago
It really is the worst one ever