Spurs acquire De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings acquire Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 Hornets, 2027 Spurs, 2031 Timberwolves), three second-round picks
Bulls acquire Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, own 2025 first-round pick
What a wild time in the NBA. Just 24 hours after the Mavericks and Lakers exchanged Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis, there was another trade involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine. Three teams took part in the deal.
The Spurs were the big winners of the trade. They obtained Fox for pretty much just a mid-first-round pick, which is worth it. Fox is a very talented 27-year-old guard who will be a great second option to pair with Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio needed a No. 2 to take the next step, and now they have that player in Fox.
The Kings didn’t do as well as the Spurs, but they were able to get a talented, albeit injury-prone player in LaVine for Fox. They also picked up three first-round picks, though Charlotte’s selection is protected. Still, there’s not that huge of a gap between Fox and LaVine – the two are just a couple of years apart, unlike Doncic and Davis – so I like this move for Sacramento.
The big loser in this trade is Chicago. I don’t understand what the Bulls are doing. Sure, they get their own pick back, which will be in the 11-15 range, but they lost LaVine for pretty much nothing otherwise. Perhaps they believe they need to rebuild, but they should have been able to get something more for LaVine than a mid-first-round pick and three bench scrubs.
Grade for Spurs – A+
Grade for Kings – A-
Grade for Bulls – D
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Lakers acquire Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from Mavericks for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 1st-round pick
This trade broke when we were broadcasting the latest episode of the WalterFootball After Dark Show. When people brought it up in the comments, I thought it was fake. It turns out that this trade is very real, as Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis will be swapping teams.
I don’t understand this deal for the Mavericks. Doncic is in his prime. Sure, he gets hurt a lot, but he turns only 26 in a few weeks. By comparison, Davis will be 32 next month. Doncic will be great for the next six-plus years, while Davis will begin declining soon. There’s a chance this trade was the byproduct of Mark Cuban’s mental regression, which has been quite apparent recently if you’ve paid attention to anything he has said the past year. Cuban, 66, is losing his marbles, so perhaps he should be asked to take a step back from the team.
The Lakers, meanwhile, made out like bandits. Pairing Doncic with LeBron James gives them a chance to win the championship this year, provided they can obtain a center prior to the trade deadline.
Grade for Lakers – A+
Grade for Mavericks – MILLEN
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