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Written by Noah Kang & Liam Bekavac-Hebel, 02/25/2025
Ahead of the February 6th NBA tradeline we look into the blockbuster deals that have happened so far and what more you might expect from teams around the league.
Well…
that just happened! In the biggest blockbuster in league history, maybe the greatest trade in sports history, The Dallas Mavericks ship Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber to the LA Lakers and ohh… yeah, some guy named Luka Doncic. In return they receive Anthony Davis, a 2029 first round pick and Max Christie. The Jazz received Jalen Hood-Shifino and 2 second round picks to balance contracts. The definition of league shaking, this unprecedented move sends a top 5 player at age 25 to a storied franchise in exchange for an aging superstar with injury history. “I believe that defense wins championships,” Says Nico Harrison, GM of Dallas. “I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.” What is this guy on? He’s trading a generational talent, and the best offensive player in the league for a 32 year old AD. You don't trade a franchise player who is 25 years old for anyone, much less an aging player.
A seemingly baffling move, the Mavericks justify the trade, saying they had significant concerns about Luka’s conditioning. If that's the case, it is evident that the franchise has completely lost faith in their Slovenian star and do not want to deal with his lingering weight and injury concerns. What then poses itself is why the Mavericks would not offer Luka on the open market. When it comes to a player of his caliber, almost no one’s untouchable so why wouldn't they ship Luka? A perceivable answer is that Nico Harrison was intent on keeping the trade undercover, and having an established relationship with Rob Pelinka, he called him early to ask for AD in return. Doncic was eligible for a five-year, $345 million super max contract extension this summer with the Mavericks, and there is belief around the league that Dallas did not want to commit that kind of money to the All-NBA guard. Nonetheless if the Mavricks truly had such concerns for Luka, the return isn't terrible. It's true that their lineup is now naturally more balanced and defense oriented. Kyrie and AD make a natural duo alongside Klay Thompson. Between Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, AD can play his preferred power forward position. So if Luka truly has such drastic issues that the franchise has given up on him, then trading for AD has not put them in a bad position. THey are certainly contenders this year, and as long as AD and Kyrie maintain a certain level of play, they will be a playoff team for a few years. Their future, however, is much less promising than it was with the best young player in the league on their team.
For the Lakers, this trade is certainly evidence that the rich simply get richer. How the Lakers managed to pull off such a trade is unbelievable. In the past few decades, the Lakers have gone from Kobe and Shaq, to Kobe and Pau, to Lebron and AD, to Luka Doncic. They manage to gain generational talent in any era, making their fanbase perpetually blessed. While Luka’s immediate fit next to Lebron is unclear, no doubt two generational talents and two of the best playmakers in the league will find a way to make it work. There’s not much to say on the Lakers end. If someone offers you Luka Doncic, you accept by almost any means. While AD has expressed his desire to stay in LA, it's Luka motha frickin’ Doncic for crying out loud. This certainly leaves some holes in the Lakers lineups now, but with Luka and Lebron James, they are simply bound to make the playoffs and contend for years to come. Noah Kang
Elsewhere around the league, various teams made moves to try and encourage the direction of their franchise towards a title in the short term and long term.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have shocked the world this season by jumping into a comfortable first seed in the eastern conference despite making no moves last offseason. However nothing is ever perfect and pre-deadline the cavaliers had a severe hole in their lineup at the small forward position. Despite being a high draft pick, Isaac Okoro hasn’t proven to be much and it was clear that he wasn’t the starting caliber small forward this championship contender needed. On deadline day the cavs traded for atlanta hawks 6 Man Deandre hunter who is averaging just shy of 18 points per game despite not starting. The cavs gave up 2 important pieces in George Niang and Cari Levert’s but overall improved their roster in the acquisition of hunter. Hunter will likely take a step back offensively and won’t continue the impressive numbers he was putting up as a hawk. Overall this trade is great for both franchises as it pushes the Cavs even closer to being title favourites, along with helping the hawks into a rebuilding phase. Liam Bekavac-Hebel
Up north the rebuilding raptors made the decision to acquire former all star wing Brandon Ingram from the pelicans for a price equivalent to a bag of chips and half a diet coke. The raptors gave up bruce brown and kelly Olynyk along with a first round pick for the dynamic forward. New Orleans likely felt pressured to sell low on Ingram as he was set to become a free agent come summer 2025 and the franchise opted to get very little back for him rather than nothing at all. From the Raptors side of things this puts the roster in an odd position. Toronto is more than strong at the Sg/Sf position with players like RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Ochai Agbaji and Gradey dick already contributing massively. Ingram is a higher caliber player than any of the formerly mentioned except for maybe Scottie Barnes but alas most of the former are rising young pieces that Toronto looks to want to keep around in the long run. Likely the thinking of Raptors GM Masai Ujiri was to “ Buy now, figure out later” on ingrams place in the team as the low price for the forward was nearly impossible to pass up. Ingram was recently extended by Toronto until the end of the 2027-28 Nba Season. Liam Bekavac-Hebel
To close out the most exciting saga in relation to the Nba trade deadline this season is the trade of Jimmy butler. Not even 2 years ago Butler led a 8th seeded Miami Heat team to the Nba finals and was widely regarded as one of the most under-appreciated players in the league. Now Butler has repeatedly demanded a trade out of Miami for the last few months, He claims to have “Lost his joy in basketball” and believes he cant get that back in miami. Butler is far from a young star and his best years are likely behind him, despite this he can still be a major piece to a contending team. Initially the Heat refused to budge on a trade but that didn’t last long before it was announced that the Heat were taking offers. Eventually after months and months of speculation the golden state warriors made the move to acquire Butler. The Warriors parted ways with Andrew Wiggins,Kyle Anderson, Lindy waters III and a protected First round pick taking back Jimmy Butler. This was a statement move by the Warriors, essentially saying to the league that they were buying all-in on the remaining few years of Stephen Curry. It’s unlikely Jimmy Butler will shift the warriors from a fringe playoff team to a likely title contender but the move definitely should draw some attention away from Steph and allow him to perform at his highest level. The Warriors definitely have potential to make a splash in the playoffs however as both Curry and Butler are known playoff risers who have time and time again pulled off surprises in the months of May and June. Liam Bekavac-Hebel
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