I Admit it, I’m a Lakers Hater
The Luka trade and why teams should never do business with the Lakers
It pains me to write this, but after the Luka Dončić trade, it had to be done. Seemingly, the Lakers always end up on top, no matter how dire the circumstances appear. I know I’m late to the party. I’ve been sick and it’s been difficult to stay focused long enough to put pen to paper. Finally, here I am sharing my view on the Dončić trade.
Just over two weeks ago, Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and a first-round pick. There were other pieces involved, but all you need to know is that Luka, (Luka!) was traded. Arguably, the second-best player in the NBA and potentially one of four players in the Association you would want to build your team around for the next 10+ years.
You all know what happened by now, but everyone around the league was as surprised as everyone else sitting on their couch. Kevin Durant’s reaction, as he sat on the bench in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers, says it all.
As whispers started to make their way onto social media, it became more and more absurd that the Mavericks would trade their franchise player. Wob, an NBA analyst, shared on X that the trade likely shaved off 6-8% of the Mavericks’ valuation.
Ultimately, it culminated in the Mavericks’ General Manager, Nico Harrison, sharing his thoughts and the rationale behind the trade. Every minute he spoke it felt like he was digging himself into a bigger and bigger hole.
Everything that has come out about the trade over the last two weeks just feels strange. Even if Dončić has some conditioning issues and injury concerns, he is still perceived as a top-three player in the world. Why did Harrison negotiate against himself and not try to get more in the trade?
What made the trade feel even more absurd was the fact that De’Aaron Fox was traded the next day. In return, the Kings received three first-round picks and Zach LaVine.
What I hate the most about the trade is that I am kind of rooting for Luka to succeed and prove the Mavericks wrong. But it feels so wrong to cheer for Luka now because he wears the evil purple and gold uniform.
The Lakers Are Good At Their Jobs, I Guess
The basketball universe always seems to bend to the will of the Lakers.
wrote a great piece on the topic that I would recommend you check out. In summary, the Lakers have had 57.8% of their production since the merger come from Hall of Fame talent when measured by RAPTOR Wins Above Replacement. The next closest team to the Lakers in terms of Hall of Fame production is the Celtics with 48.3%.But the crazy thing is, the Lakers have gotten most of those contributions from Hall of Fame talent that they didn’t draft. For all the well-documented reasons, the Lakers can trade for or pick up in free agency almost any player they want.
Wilt Chamberlain (trade), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (trade), Shaquille O’Neal (free agency), Kobe Bryant (trade), Pau Gasol (trade), Dwight Howard (trade), LeBron James (free agency), Anthony Davis (trade), and now Luka Dončić (trade) were all non-draft acquisitions by the Lakers.
If you look back at how the Lakers acquired Magic Johnson and James Worthy through the draft, it takes a little squinting to understand how the purple and gold didn’t swindle the teams involved there either.
In 1979, the Lakers had the #1 pick in the draft with a guy named Magic Johnson fresh off an NCAA championship at Michigan State. How the Lakers acquired the pick is an interesting story.
At the time, the NBA discouraged free agency. In 1976, the Jazz wanted to sign Gail Goodrich, a player for the Lakers whose contract had ended. Per league rules, if the Jazz signed Goodrich, they would be subject to giving compensation to the Lakers decided on by the Commissioner.
The compensation decided upon? Two first-round draft picks and one second-round draft pick. One of the first-round picks became the #1 draft pick in 1979. The Commissioner at the time? None other than Larry O’Brien. Some of the details are murky, but Goodrich has since said that the Jazz weren’t made aware of the amount of draft compensation they would have to give up until after the transaction took place.
In not-so-ominous fashion, but definitely more absurd, the Lakers also had the #1 pick in the 1982 draft fresh off winning the NBA title. Ted Stepien, a new owner for the Cavaliers, traded a bunch of picks away to jumpstart his new team (cough, Mat Ishbia). Unfortunately for him, the efforts didn’t pan out and the Lakers saw the pick they received become the #1 pick, which they drafted James Worthy with.
Why any team wants to transact with the Lakers is beyond me, but you have to admit, the Lakers do good business. They continually figure out ways to replenish their roster with Hall of Famers no matter how dire the situation may seem.
Now, I want to focus on the other side of the equation and look at some of the teams the Lakers have done business with and how it turned out for them.
Wilt Chamberlain
During the summer of 1968, the 76ers traded Wilt Chamberlain, the reigning MVP, to the Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Jerry Chambers, and Archie Clark. The trade was made at the request of Chamberlain just two seasons removed from winning the NBA championship.
The 76ers enjoyed three years of making the playoffs following the trade but didn’t win a playoff series for nine seasons until Julius Irving came to the rescue. Following the three immediate playoff appearances, the 76ers had four losing seasons in a row, including an abysmal nine-win season in 1973. Meanwhile, the Lakers enjoyed five finals appearances with Chamberlain, winning one championship in 1972.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In 1975, the Lakers traded for another MVP big man, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, just seven years after trading for Wilt Chamberlain. The Lakers received Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley and sent Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, and Junior Bridgeman to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Abdul-Jabbar was already the MVP in 1971, 1972, and 1974 and won Milwaukee one NBA championship in two finals appearances. After arriving in LA, he won three more MVPs and won five titles.
The Bucks struggled for a couple of years after the trade, but consistently made the playoffs throughout the 80s. However, they didn’t return to the NBA Finals until a guy named Giannis Antetokounmpo arrived.
Kobe Bryant
Before the 1996 NBA draft, Kobe Bryant impressed LA’s then General Manager, Jerry West. However, the Lakers didn’t have a lottery pick at the time. The Lakers were more focused on signing superstar free agent, Shaquille O’Neal.
To sign Shaq, LA needed to shed some salary cap, which made for the perfect opportunity to acquire a young draft pick. Rumors were swirling around Kobe, who famously didn’t work out for many teams because he hoped to go to the Lakers. The Nets almost drafted him with the eighth pick, but Kobe threatened to play in Italy.
Finally, the Charlotte Hornets drafted him 13th overall but didn’t have intentions to keep him. Instead, they traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. Not only did the trade bring Kobe to LA, but it also opened up salary cap room for the Lakers to sign Shaq. The path to their three-peat was set, which is now a part of Lakers lore.
After the trade, the Hornets had their best regular season record to date, accumulating 54 wins. Divac was a key piece of two 50+ win teams, which won one playoff series. However, after two years in Charlotte, he signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings, which made for cinema-worthy storylines as he battled it out with Kobe and Shaq over the next couple of years as part of the Western Conference elite.
Unfortunately for him and Lakers haters everywhere, he never made it over the hump to enact revenge on his former team.
Do We Need More Proof?
I could go on and talk about the Lakers trading for Paul Gasol and Anthony Davis, each of whom resulted in pushing Lakers teams over the hump to win championships. But I’m going to spare you the details. The proof is in the pudding. The Lakers make trades and acquire talent through free agency that other teams don’t and can’t. The Lakers make big moves because they are empowered to do so.
But they aren’t just empowered by great weather, a big market, willing ownership, and a history players can’t ignore. They are empowered by the teams that do business with them. Ultimately, the goal for every team should be to win a championship. And in most cases, the moves made by teams doing business with the Lakers aren’t winning moves—certainly not the ones I’ve highlighted.
Maybe I’m just a Lakers hater, but also, maybe don’t do business with the Lakers. Like at all. Ever. I say that as a sign of respect. They are just too good. They obviously are doing some voodoo magic in the basement of the Staples Center (err Crypto.com Arena) and bring out the cauldron every time they make a trade.
Now, I believe Nico Harrison believes that he made his team better with this trade. Side note: the script is straight out of Hollywood (literally) with AD getting hurt in his first game in a Mavs uniform. But Nico Harrison should know better and remember the history of the Lakers trades. Just don’t do it. No matter how good the trade appears on paper. Never do it. Maybe some GM will listen to me, for the sake of all Lakers haters everywhere.