Well, dear readers, with two very big trades over the weekend this edition of Monday Movers is turning literal.
To say the NBA universe was shocked by the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade would be an understatement, with Mavs fans taking it particularly hard (a group of them led a fake funeral procession, coffin and everything, to the American Airlines Center). While many were still reeling, a second blockbuster trade was announced, moving De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Let’s start there.
De’Aaron Fox - Zach LaVine
Trade details:
- Spurs get: Fox, along with Jordan McLaughlin
- Kings get: LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 via Hornets, 2027 via Spurs, 2031 via Timberwolves)
- Bulls get: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their famed 2025 first-round pick back
There had been rumblings this trade was in the works, and Fox himself said his preferred destination was San Antonio — specifically to play alongside Victor Wembanyama — but this house of cards was beginning to wobble months ago. While Fox rejected the rumour that he had anything to do with former Kings coach Mike Brown’s firing, it wasn’t long after that Fox’s agent, Rich Paul, began agitating for a trade. To be fair, it’s what agents do, and Fox’s reticence to stay could’ve had more to do with front office disarray than any one bad relationship.
The Spurs immediately look better on paper and probably will on the floor. Fox is a fast and fluid guard who’ll get Wembanyama the ball, and the two’s competitive timelines pair up perfectly. The Kings gain a mini-reunion with LaVine joining his former teammate DeMar DeRozan, but the Kings also now look like a rebuild project versus the playoff team they did just two seasons ago. The Bulls could really use that pick, so here’s hoping they use it well. I felt a bit bad for Kevin Huerter, the only one being sent solo to the Bulls, but then I remembered he told me once his favorite food is American-Italian, of which Chicago boasts more than Sacramento.
Now onto the blockbuster that shocked ‘round the world.
Luka Doncic - Anthony Davis
Trade details:
- Lakers get: Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
- Mavericks get: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, Lakers 2029 first-round pick
- Jazz get: Jalen Hood-Schifino, two second-round picks (2025 via Clippers, 2025 via Mavericks)
This trade makes no sense. It’s been quickly maligned, mocked, trolled, and had players wondering if Shams was hacked. Doncic did not request a trade and wasn’t informed he was, in fact, in trade talks until the deal was sealed, and just last week Anthony Davis told media that he thought the Lakers could use another big man (silver lining: he now plays for a team with two?).
Any big trade, any trade at all, is bound to skew better for one party. This one skews no better for anybody. It was reported the impetus for Dallas’ front office trading Doncic came from concerns about the superstar’s conditioning, that Mavs GM Nico Harrison worried whether Doncic could stay healthy and lead the team deep into another postseason. I’ll flag here that these concerns have also been raised about Davis. Post-trade, in an attempt to explain his rationale to media, Harrison said he believed “defense wins championships” and that’s why he wanted Davis over Doncic. I’ll flag here that lacklustre defense has also been a criticism of Davis.
The point is that materially, neither team changes all that much — which is traditionally the point of such a giant swing and high risk trade. The Lakers will certainly be fun to watch, with Doncic as a running mate alongside LeBron James (they’ll also become every referees most dreaded team to call), but even a very early technical reading of how Dallas will play with Davis feels awkward. This was a team built around, and for, Doncic. They’ve had enough trouble incorporating new stars, from Kyrie Irving to Klay Thompson, and now they’re without the motor of their entire operation.
If this trade was purely for money, with the Dallas front office balking at the prospect of paying Doncic his $345 million extension this summer, then it rings even more hollow. Harrison and the Mavs front office didn’t approach any other team to at least feign due diligence. We hear all the time, especially in trade season, that the NBA is a business — we rarely include that it can be such a dumb one.
