LA Lakers' NBA Title Odds Wrongly Spike After Flipping Anthony Davis For Luka Doncic
Definitely, the most shocking trade in my 38 years as an NBA fan went down Saturday when the Dallas Mavericks sent 25-year-old superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for future Hall of Fame big Anthony Davis, and "stuff." NBA fans and media are behaving like the Lakers fleeced the Mavs, and the sportsbooks are acting accordingly.
Sports bettors say that LA's chances of making the NBA Finals and winning a title are more than doubled. No way. The Lakers are 19th in defensive rating and Davis is a top-three defensive big in the NBA, probably second behind San Antonio Spurs All-Star C Victor Wembanyama.
Unless Los Angeles adds a defensive big at the trade deadline (Thursday, February 6), it'll be a bottom-five defensive team in the Association by season's end. As Dallas general manager Nico Harrison said when asked why he traded Luka for AD, "Defense wins championships", and Dončić is a defensive liability.
Furthermore, Luka was due a five-year, $345 million extension at the end of next season. By trading him now, the Mavs are basically saying he isn't worth that kind of money. Which, obviously, shocked people, but I agree with that assessment. Dončić is a fat ball hog, who doesn't make his teammates better. Luka just gets crazy stats because he always has the ball.
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Also, adding Davis gives the Mavericks a 2-3-year NBA title window, and they should have better odds than the Lakers to win a championship this season. Dallas has floor-spacing shooters like guards Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, and forward P.J. Washington, and size, such as AD, C Daniel Gafford, and C Dereck Lively II.

Sportsbooks are reacting as if Anthony Davis is a bench player after the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. (Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)
More importantly, you need a skilled big like Davis to win a title in today's NBA. Here are the top 10 in PER currently: 1. Nuggets C Nikola Jokić, 2. Thunder PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 3. Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, 4. AD, 5. Gafford, 6. Knicks C Karl-Anthony Towns, 7. Wemby, 8. Kings C Domantas Sabonis, 9. LeBron, 10. Cavaliers PF Evan Mobley. Eight of those names are frontcourt players.
To be fair, Luka would be seventh in PER if he played the minimum games to qualify. Nonetheless, I think this trade works for both teams. The Mavericks have a better chance of winning now, and the Lakers have a superstar they can build around for the post-LeBron years. While the market disagrees, Dallas at +3000 to win the NBA title is a much better bet than the Lakers at +1400.
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