The evening of February 2nd seemed like a normal one. But this would be a night like no other, Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis. The first midseason trade between two All-NBA players ever. Perhaps the biggest and most unexpected trade in NBA history. News of the trade went viral immediately. Players involved were dumbfounded. But the storm had only begun. Trade upon trade, star for star– it was impossible to keep up. When the dust settled with the trade deadline on the 6th, the NBA seemed brand new, and belief in foul play has arisen because of such.
First, the elephant in the room: the Dončić-Davis trade.
Luka Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers’ new star, averages 27 points per game this season, has been selected five consecutive times for the All-NBA First Team, lead his former Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals, and has been traded for Anthony Davis, a guard who was a key piece in the Lakers’ rotation due to his defense and rebounding abilities. Immediately after news of the trade broke, the basketball sphere went berserk. Disbelief was cast; many believed analysts reporting the trade had their social media accounts hacked, no players involved in the trade knew about it before it happened, but this was indeed an actual trade.
“My friend started texting me, and I was like, ‘no way. This is not real.’ I thought it was fake news until I confirmed it [by checking] ESPN,” commented junior Sid Raghunath.
After the trade had gone public, sports outlets overwhelmingly regarded it as being extremely lopsided, with the Lakers being the clear winner, citing Dončić’s status as one of the hottest young stars in the league, and the Mavericks’ franchise player. The Mavericks’ were panned for the trade, citing Davis’s struggles to stay healthy, age and skill disparity compared to Dončić, as well as the lack of consolation the Mavericks’ received— one other player, and a first round pick from the Lakers.
Trading Dončić has not gone well for the Mavericks so far– they have had seen an exponentially growing turnover rate for their fanbase, a funeral held for Dončić outside the Mavericks’ home arena, Davis getting injured in his first game and not to mention, a movement to fire General Manager Nico Harrison, who responded after backlash: “I believe that defense wins championships.”
Dončić’s trade would be only the beginning of a condensed and erratic four-day period in which a plethora of players would be traded.
De’Aaron Fox, the Sacramento Kings’ former franchise player to the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine, their leading scorer, the Washington Wizards’ star player Kyle Kuzma for the Milwaukee Bucks’ All-Star Khris Middleton, The New Orleans Pelicans’ big man Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors, the Miami Heat’s franchise player Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors for their star Andrew Wiggins, as well as numerous other role players trading places. In the four-day period from February 2nd to February 6th, eight All-Stars were traded. A popular theory that has arisen after this recent erratic, intense and unexpected period of trades, is that it is a plot to boost ratings, since the NBA has bled viewership and seen ratings plummet for years now.
“I [think] every single trade is to boost ratings. Because [now], you have two of the best players in the league, LeBron James and Luka Dončić on the Lakers,” believed senior Arrshath Mohaideen.
This insane period of trade has greatly altered numerous other team lineups, so how does the playoff picture change?
“I think the Lakers have a much better shot at winning the [NBA] Finals, and I feel like the whole NBA dynamic has been changed,” Raghunath predicted.
And beyond this year’s playoffs, how can the long-time future of the NBA be affected? Will this be the bandage for the NBA’s bleeding viewer wound?
“With these high-profile signings, people who don’t watch the NBA or watch [casually] are going to watch because of [these trades]. Not a lot of people have been watching the NBA, so [these trades] are definitely going to boost ratings,” Mohaideen commented.
Scripted or not, the NBA has changed dramatically. From this year’s playoffs to beyond, it’s about to get interesting.
