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Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers trade for Luka Doncic is still reverberating around the NBA. Swapping Anthony Davis for a top-five talent that is yet to enter their prime has left the rest of the league questioning how the deal got over the line.
During a recent appearance at a live recording of the ‘Gils Arena’ podcast, Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, who is LeBron James and Davis’ agent, admitted that if he, or anyone else had known about the trade, it likely wouldn’t have happened.
“99.9% of the time, I’m going to know what’s going on,” Paul said. “The one time I didn’t was the one time we all didn’t, per se, know what was going on. Who was in it was a shock. I always knew the affinity that was had for AD from Nico’s perspective, so the location wasn’t a shock. The timing of it was a shock. And, obviously, who was involved was a shock. I’m glad I didn’t know, and I’m glad whoever else didn’t know. Because it probably wouldn’t happened if you did know.”
The Lakers now have two of the biggest stars in basketball. LeBron is the generational talent of his era. Doncic has the ability to be the top player of his era. Rob Pelinka will certainly shift gears to ensure he’s building a stable roster around Doncic that’s capable of contending for the next five-to-ten years.
Luka Doncic Impressed by Lakers Rob Pelinka
Shortly after acquiring Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, Pelinka swung a deal to acquire Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Williams failed his medical and the trade was rescidned. However, the speed at which Pelinka identified Williams and got the deal over the line reportedly impressed Doncic.
“There has been no tangible dismay from the Dončić camp about his new team walking away from the Williams deal,” Marc Stein reported on Feb. 17. “Sources told The Stein Line that Dončić, in his first discussion about roster construction with Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, told Pelinka that he understood it might take until the summer to make that addition … and came away impressed by how swiftly the Lakers initially moved to try to address that void.”
Donic is at his best when sharing the floor with an athletic rim-runner. Pelinka will undoubtedly scour the market during the summer as he looks to give his new star the type of talent that allows him to thrive.
Lakers’ Won’t Place Minutes Restriction on Doncic
Doncic has been dealing with a calf injury in recent weeks. However, the All-Star break has provided the perfect opportunity for him to get some much-needed rest. The Lakers will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they face the Hornets.
During a recent interview with Mark Medina of Fox Sports, JJ Redick confirmed Doncic will not be operating under a minutes restriction.
“He’ll be fine,” Redick said. “That extra five, six days of All-Star break was good for him. His minutes will be up tomorrow, and I don’t think that there’s going to be any sort of restrictions going forward.”
The Lakers are currently fifth in the Western Conference. Redick’s team will undoubtedly want to continue stacking wins to avoid any chance of being dragged into the play-in tournament. A healthy Doncic and LeBron should allow them to do that, at which point, the Lakers could be a candidate to embark on a deep postseason run.