The biggest story to come out of the NBA as of late is undoubtedly the Luka Dončić trade. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the LA Lakers; even if you pay little attention to basketball or the NBA, you’ve probably heard that one of the biggest stars and top five players in the league was hastily traded in a phone call between just the two general managers of the Dallas and Los Angeles basketball teams. Mark Cuban is a current minority shareholder of the Mavericks who had a majority stake in the team before the start of the last season. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, he didn’t know about the trade until both teams had already agreed, despite the fact that he was supposed to remain in charge of basketball operations even after his sale.
“If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer’s office prepping for a divorce,” Cuban said in 2020.
To put into perspective how undervalued Dončić was in this trade (one of the causes for drama), in 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for center Rudy Gobert. In getting him, the Timberwolves traded away five players and five picks for the three time Defensive Player of the Year. The Mavericks traded away Luka Dončić and two accessory players for Anthony Davis, Max Christie (an unproven bench player), and one pick. Luka has been an MVP finalist the last two seasons and seemed bound to win one some point soon in his career; while Gobert is a great player, it probably shouldn’t be the case that Dončić would get traded for anything less than or even close to what the Wolves gave up for Gobert. Lon Piontek, ‘25, said if the Timberwolves were to trade Anthony Edwards, Minnesota guard and a player with similar potential to Dončić, “I would feel like our rising star was stolen from us,” which is certainly how many Mavericks fans felt in the wake of the trade. For a player of Dončić’s caliber “the only acceptable return would be [Victor] Wembanyama.” said Quinn Bendell, ‘25 (Wembanyama was last year’s Rookie of the Year, and has put up historic numbers despite only being 21 years old).
One cause for suspicion regarding the trade is the Adelson’s (the owners of the Mavs since 2023) and their ties to the casino business in Las Vegas. Because of those ties, some people speculated they wanted to make the team worse as a means of excusing relocation. However, they have maintained a position of remaining in Dallas. Additionally, it is unlikely that NBA commissioner Adam Silver would permit the team to move, as he plans on expanding the league and Las Vegas is a prime target to receive one of the new teams.
There was of course a sentiment of frustration regarding the Lakers getting another star as soon as it seems LeBron James is approaching retirement. They share the second biggest market in the NBA with the Clippers, and have a strong global presence due to success throughout their history. This means the NBA stands to benefit from a good Lakers team. Looking at the Athletics 2022 list of the 75 greatest NBA players of all time, 6 out of the top 10 players had played for the LA Lakers. While being a big market has its advantages, the Lakers seemingly lucked out in getting Luka. There’s no evidence pointing towards a conspiracy to bring a new big name to the big name team.
The real motivation seems to be a managerial dissatisfaction with Dončić’s conditioning: his weight and athleticism. Patrick Dumont stated that he “doesn’t have that… singular focus to win” or a strong work ethic. This is silly, as players like Shaquille O’Neal, which owner Dumont included in his list of players that have an admirable work ethic, have seen great success while not trying their hardest (Shaq infamously delayed his toe surgery in 2002 until the beginning of the season so he could “recover on company time” rather than getting surgery in the offseason). Fans and NBA players alike were shocked that the Mavs would trade Dončić over his work ethic instead of just letting the results speak for themselves: he led them to the finals just last season. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota star, said “[Dončić] averages 30 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. I don’t give a damn [about his potential weight problems]. You’re fine with me.” Marty Gunderson, ‘25, called the trade “an utter failure in every possible way.” Anthony Davis, who the Mavs got in return, is a great player, but the general consensus is that guys like Dončić shouldn’t get traded. He has the potential to be the best in the league and he’s played in their system since 2018, why give that up?
This story calls into question players’ rights. At the NBA trade deadline, the point at which after teams are no longer allowed to trade players, many teams rush to make moves in order to remain competitive up until and through the playoffs. NBA guard Dennis Schroder went so far as to compare the NBA trade deadline to “modern slavery,” which he said right before ending up on his third team of the season. At the end of the day, players have very little say in where they play outside of free agency. Aside from the commissioner, almost all decisions come down to the owners of the teams. Only two out of the five hundred or so players have no-trade clauses: LeBron James and Bradley Beal; perhaps more big stars should consider working those into their next contracts, though the NBA currently has prerequisites making it difficult to qualify for the perk.
Many times, decisions made by upper management, either for business reasons or for the sake of team success, are going to harm the players involved in these decisions. Luka Dončić himself bought a $15 million house in Dallas days before being traded: clearly, he had no intention or knowledge of leaving the city. With the Lakers, he’ll also no longer be eligible for a $345 million extension this summer, as you need to have spent eight years with your team upon resigning to qualify for a deal that big. That being said, it will certainly be interesting to see what two of the best playmakers in the league, LeBron James and Luka Dončić, will do together on the Lakers.
