The Los Angeles Lakers’ acquisition of star guard Luka Doncic was one of the biggest surprises in sports history. Nobody saw the deal between Los Angeles and the Dallas Mavericks coming, leading to shock and controversy throughout the whole NBA.
However, the trade’s secrecy was one of the factors that contributed to its decline. There probably would have been a bidding war for Doncic’s services if other teams had known that Dallas was trying to let him go. The Chicago Bulls were prepared to give up every player on their roster in order to acquire Doncic, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. But the Bulls were never given the chance to talk to the Mavericks due to the behind-the-scenes aspect of the Lakers trade.
“A source told the Sun-Times that Karnisovas and his front office would have offered anyone and everyone on the roster had they been notified by the Mavericks that Luka Doncic was available in February, but even then, it wouldn’t have been better than what the Lakers gave the Mavericks.” Any trade the Bulls might have made with the Mavericks would have been overshadowed by Los Angeles trading Anthony Davis for Doncic. However, another team might have been able to offer Dallas a better deal or more draft picks.
Fans should view this as exciting even though the Bulls probably won’t get the chance to acquire Doncic right now.
Chicago has been stuck in mediocrity for years, and fans have called for the front office to be aggressive in either rebuilding or putting together a winning team.
With Doncic now with the Lakers, Los Angeles is set up well for the future. With Doncic and LeBron James in the mix this past season, the Lakers earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference into the playoffs. While the squad was eliminated early, the future remains quite bright for Los Angeles. This offseason, the squad will concentrate on increasing the depth of the frontcourt; if they can do so, they will be able to seriously contend for a championship the following year.
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