Phx-Suns.Net

I just can't believe the Mavs got so little. Just off the top of my head, you could have gotten more from OKC, the Spurs, Nets... Almost any team would have given you a better deal. And the only reason you couldn't get more from us is because of cap rules.

Mavs GM needs to be fired… not putting it out there on the market was ridiculous and they could have got way more.

wpmiller42 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:24 am

I just can't believe the Mavs got so little. Just off the top of my head, you could have gotten more from OKC, the Spurs, Nets... Almost any team would have given you a better deal. And the only reason you couldn't get more from us is because of cap rules.

I'm sure the suns would've given Booker for Doncic

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:05 am

wpmiller42 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:24 am

I just can't believe the Mavs got so little. Just off the top of my head, you could have gotten more from OKC, the Spurs, Nets... Almost any team would have given you a better deal. And the only reason you couldn't get more from us is because of cap rules.

I'm sure the suns would've given Booker for Doncic

Just think we could have had both Booker AND Doncic.

Makes me wonder what the league promised the Mavs to make this trade. I am so sick of the Lakers and Dodgers getting pretty much whatever they want because they are LA.

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:05 am

wpmiller42 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:24 am

I just can't believe the Mavs got so little. Just off the top of my head, you could have gotten more from OKC, the Spurs, Nets... Almost any team would have given you a better deal. And the only reason you couldn't get more from us is because of cap rules.

I'm sure the suns would've given Booker for Doncic

Yeah it seems very fishy that they (apparently?) only approached the Lakers? Does LA have secret plants in every organization? (Or not so secret like Jerry West in Memphis for the Pau Gasol trade)

SunsRIt wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:38 am

Makes me wonder what the league promised the Mavs to make this trade. I am so sick of the Lakers and Dodgers getting pretty much whatever they want because they are LA.

It’s total crap…. First shohei, now this. I’m sure Lamar Jackson and saquon are headed to the rams next.

specialsauce wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:05 am

wpmiller42 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:24 am

I just can't believe the Mavs got so little. Just off the top of my head, you could have gotten more from OKC, the Spurs, Nets... Almost any team would have given you a better deal. And the only reason you couldn't get more from us is because of cap rules.

I'm sure the suns would've given Booker for Doncic

And if I were the Mavs I would have taken Davis instead of Booker. (if those were your only two choices)

Love Book for this

ShelC wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:54 am

Love Book for this

He should’ve cropped Luka out of the picture and been like, “Hey, where the hell did Luka go?!”

It was reported they went to one other team and got turned down…I heard it was Milwaukee for Giannis

OK, after sleeping on it, this could be the worst trade in NBA history (from Dallas's perspective). It is rare to see a generational superstar traded while he is still in his prime (arguably he is BEFORE his prime; he's only 25). He's the face of their franchise, he's one of the top 3-4 players in the NBA, they just went to the Finals, and they've constructed their entire roster around him.

I do see a bit of where they're coming from in the desire to move on from Luka. He's such a ball-dominant player, he can stifle others a bit. Their stats when Luka sits out are interesting; they actually play pretty well without him, implying that for all his greatness, Luka can take some baskets and energy away from other players. He costs a fortune, due for a super-max contract. He seemed to be getting very comfortable and too big for his britches, refusing to dedicate time to his conditioning and staying on the court. And he is a pretty awful defender, which is a challenge to build around since basically 100% of the rest of your team must be plus defenders to make up for that.

And I can even see the argument for going and getting Anthony Davis. The Mavs have a bunch of role playing, journeyman, so-so bigs. Having an excellent center/PF who's arguably still a top-10 or top-12 player in the NBA is nothing to be sneezed at. They ARE correct that defense wins championships, and Anthony Davis is an excellent defensive anchor. He's had a great last 1.5 seasons and, in theory, could be a big difference maker for them. If they want to go through teams like OKC, Boston, Cleveland, having Davis and his size and strength would be a real asset.

But even if you account for all of this, still, if you're going to trade Luka away, you can get a MUCH better haul for him. If you want Davis, you should know that he isn't valued nearly as highly around the NBA as Luka is (rightly so!), and so you should ask the Lakers for a bunch of other assets. They should have gotten Reaves on Knecht or at least one other solid player back. AND they should have gotten several more picks and swaps. That trade should have netted them about 3 1sts outright and maybe 1-2 1st swaps. Even then it is arguably a horrible trade, but at least you can make a case for it.

As it is, it's an outright robbery. I bet the LAL front office could barely keep a straight face on the phone call. I can't believe a dumbass team just gifted the Lakers another decade of excellence and relevance for almost nothing. From LA's perspective, Davis has been gimpy and injured for most of his time there, and he's getting older, and they clearly were kind of sunsetting this current team led by Lebron into an era of mediocrity and irrelevance until Lebron retired and they could start a proper rebuild. At that point they probably would have tried to move AD for whatever youngs and picks they could muster and blow it up. Imagine their reaction when Dallas calls them out of the blue! "Want to immediately jump-start your rebuild with one of the top 5 players in the NBA? For one gimpy old man and one 1st?" LMAO, ridiculous.

Even if all of Dallas's concerns and criticisms of Luka turn out to be absolutely true, this is just an inexcusable trade for their front office. It will probably go down as one of the, if not THE, worst trade in NBA history. I bet their fans are literally out on a ledge right now. I would be absolutely devastated if I were a Mavs fan.

The only asterisk I can put here is, I do think that it's likely that the Mavs with Davis will look pretty good this year, while the Lakers with Lebron + Laka won't actually be that good, since they're missing their size and defense now. But it won't matter. LAL still wins this trade no matter what happens, simply from an asset acquisition standpoint. Unbelievable.

On a positive note, I like when players I really don’t like are on teams I really don’t like. Makes it even better to root against them.

Kinda makes the haul for Gobert last year look even more laughable.

Kryptonic wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:56 am

Mavs GM needs to be fired… not putting it out there on the market was ridiculous and they could have got way more.

Oh, yeah. They should have gotten WAY more first round picks for Luka. Again, he's top five talent.

Reports that Mavs approached one other team…. I’m betting it’s the bucks about Giannis.

This is what it looks like to get fleeced on both sides for a superstar.

Just thinking out loud but does anyone think a LeBron trade could be on the cards and that the reason the Lakers brought in Luka was to appease their fanbase in the event of that happening? I just don't see LeBron and Luka complimenting each other but could see the Lakers trading LeBron to begin the process of putting the right pieces around Luka.

Just a thought.

Won’t trade him this week.. but who knows in the summer

So how many free throws will Luka be averaging now? 50? 100?