On February 1st, 2025 the Los Angeles Lakers were sitting 5th in the Western Conference with a record of 28-19. The Lakers are led by Lebron James and were looking to add another piece to increase their odds of winning the NBA Finals. The Lakers may have been a piece away but they were still in contention; especially, with other stars such as Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Dalton Knecht.
Well, on February 2nd, 2025, at 12:21 AM the Lakers acquired their missing piece. The All-NBA superstar, Luka Doncic, was dealt to the Lakers in a MASSIVE 3-team trade. However, the Lakers did lose a key piece of their roster in the trade. This trade shook up the Western Conference and has the potential to go down as one of the biggest trades in NBA history. The 3-teams in the trade feature the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers received Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris from Dallas. While the Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick. Finally, the Utah Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks.
Lakers fans may be excited for the trade and have good reason to be, but there are still some problems with Doncic. Luka is still dealing with a calf injury he suffered against the Timberwolves on December 25th, 2024. Also, Doncic is refusing to do conditioning and is one of the heaviest players in the league.
On the other hand, Anthony Davis brings a much-needed paint present in Dallas and helps lead their team to a potential Finals appearance.
Lakers Potential Starting Lineup:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Mark Williams
Dallas Mavericks Potential Starting Lineup:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Quentin Grimes
SF: Klay Thompson
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Derrick Lively
