That’s all, folks!
If you thought that the Lakers trading D’Angelo Russell back to Brooklyn for the second time last month was out there, wait until you read all about this.
The portrait of former Dallas Mavs forward Dorian Finney-Smith is about to be joined by another Maverick.
And to think, the LA Sparks’ deal for Kelsey Plum seemed like the biggest blockbuster in Hollywood this week.
When the Lakers detonated the nucleus of their young core for Anthony Davis, we never imagined we would see him out of a Lakers uniform. Especially after the Lake Show survived his free agency period when the Chicago native was tempted by a Windy City homecoming.
But now, after a championship in the Bubble and an In-Season Tournament win, AD is on his way out of LA, along with the blossoming talent of Max Christie, who is making good on the promise that he was poised for a breakout year.”
The franchise and its future will be missed, as will unsung sophomore Jalen Hood-Schifino, who is making his way to Utah as part of this three-team trade for good measure. The young point guard never got the chance to make his mark, but the former 17th pick will do so in Salt Lake City.
A word to the Purple and Gold: retire the number three jersey. Anthony Davis belongs right there in the rafters with George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and Pau Gasol as one of the best big men in the Lakers’ long legacy, even if they did play him out of position for far too long.
No wonder injuries took their toll.
It was all good just a week ago, even though Davis was making it clear the Lakers needed another big. Seven days later, Anthony has found himself on another team
As a Maverick in Dallas, AD forms one hell of a championship-caliber one-two punch with Point God Kyrie Irving, another former teammate of The King. It’s the kind of duo that the Lakers just lost, as the split between AD and LBJ feels like Shaq and Kobe, or Kobe and Pau for Lakers fans.
With that being said, the Lakers still received plenty in return for this deal.
Good German giant Maxi Kleber, their old friend from the Bubble days Markieff Morris (the latest Laker to have a second stint), oh, and Luka Dončić.
Just when you thought it wouldn’t get higher than Dennis Rodman’s brief number 76 for the Lakers back in 1999, here comes the double-seven.
Luka for AD is crazy. So much so, people thought Shams was hacked.
This is only one of the top three players in the league we’re talking about, let alone the next chapter of the golden Lakers legacy: Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and now Luka Dončić, who is still only 25 years old.
Although LeBron James had another Mecca performance at The Garden, scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and providing 12 assists in the Lakers’ 128-112 win against the New York Knicks, Josh Hart also achieved a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Hart went head-to-head with James, showing the Lakers just what they miss with their young core.
This is 40, indeed. As, even LeBron can’t believe what he’s doing at his age.
When Luka was a rookie, he got to play with a 40-year-old NBA legend, Dirk Nowitzki. Yet LeBron James is not your average icon as he leaves his thirties, unlike those who grew up watching Jordan and Pippen.
Now, like the crazy Dončić and Kyrie combination that actually worked, Luka and LeBron look to make Laker history as the best in the West. The dynamic duo pairing of ‘Bron and the one he once called a “bad mother” is about to get more explicit than Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Just you wait until The Bay’s All-Star game in San Francisco later this month, when things will get really awkward in California.
The West just got even wilder.
