Late Saturday night, the NBA world was rocked by news of a blockbuster trade Los Angeles Lakers fans could have never dreamed of. Shams Charania reported that the Lakers would officially be trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, and get Luka Doncic back in return.
Upon hearing the news, it seemed as if ever user on the internet synchronously had to check if the trade was fake, given the unbelieveable nature of it. But after a few minutes, reality set in: the trade is indeed real.
The full details of the deal are as follows: The Mavericks will send Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. Additionally, the Utah Jazz are also involved in the deal and will receive Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.
As the dust begins to settle on this league-altering trade, we can begin to see just how massive it will be for the Lake Show. Not only is LA set up better for the current season than before, but it is clear that this was a move to keep them in relevancy past the end of the LeBron James era in the NBA.
The Lakers just set up the post-LeBron era perfectly
When it comes to the current season, the Lakers have been locked into a battle in the middle of the Western Conference standings. Currently sitting just one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the fourth seed, they were looking at an uphill battle if they were going to make a deep run in the playoffs. But now, all that changes.
LeBron James is too old to carry you in the playoffs at 40 years old, and it has always been questionable whether Anthony Davis can be your best player for an entire postseason run. But Luka Doncic just got done taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals less than eight months ago. The Lakers are now set up to be a real threat in the 2025 playoffs.
More than that, they have now set themselves up for the next generation of basketball in Los Angeles as well. LeBron's playing career is nearly finished, and now the Lakers will have their next franchise superstar that can lead them for the next decade-plus. This was an all-time chess move from the Lakers.
Over the course of NBA history, superstar-level players have always fallen into the Lakers' lap some way or another, and it happened again on Saturday night. This was perhaps one of the most shocking NBA trades of this century, and it will ultimately set LA up to become one of the dominant forces in the West once again.