In the wake of Kyrie’s injury, Mavs winning draft lottery, and Lakers being punked in first round, Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka have an opportunity to reimagine the Luka-For-AD trade via a second trade to fix both rosters.
Circumstances have changed dramatically for both the Mavs and Lakers since the infamous Luka-For-AD trade and it’s highly likely that those changes may reopen the door for Nico and Rob to make a second trade. There’s no question, with Kyrie likely out for part or all of next season, the Mavs need to find a starting point guard and there’s also no question the Lakers’ top offseason priority will be to trade for a starting quality center.
Trades in the NBA are about front office relationships as much as matching needs. Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka have had a long-time relationship that started when Nico was with Nike and Rob was Kobe Bryant’s agent.
So when general managers need something, the tendency is to reach out to other GMs with whom they have a good relationship. Despite the criticism of Nico for trading Luka, he and Rob still have a good working relationship.
While many observers believe the Mavs didn’t get fair value from L.A. when trading Luka Doncic, Nico has been unyielding in his support for the trade and belief that Anthony Davis will be more valuable than Luka Doncic.
Ironically, there are solid reasons Nico and Rob should revisit the Luka-For-AD trade and reimagine it via a second 6-player win-win trade to address the new changes in circumstances and solve both teams’ roster problems.
The proposed second trade would be a straight trade of 3 Mavs players whom the Lakers need for 3 Lakers players whom the Jazz need. The trade would be win-win for both teams and would not include any draft capital.
NICO AND ROB RE-IMAGINE LUKA-FOR-AD TRADE
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The original Luka-For-AD trade failed to address the Lakers’ obvious need for a quality starting center to replace Anthony Davis or the Mavericks’ need, once Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL, for a quality starting point guard.
Fortunately for both teams, they can easily fix those problems with a 3 for 3 trade where the Mavs get Reaves to cover for the injured Irving while the Lakers get bigger and better on defense with Gafford and Washington.
Drafting Cooper Flagg will probably signal the end of the road for center Daniel Gafford and power forward PJ Washington with the Mavs, as neither are projected to start next season after which they will both become UFA’s.
The Mavericks get the best player in the trade in Austin Reaves, who can replace Kyrie Irving next season. They also receive Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht, two elite 3-point shooters whom the Mavs need for spacing.
The Lakers receive needed front court size in Gafford and Washington plus the return of young shooting guard Max Christie. All three Mavs players would likely be in the Lakers starting lineup with Luka and LeBron.
The second Lakers and Mavericks trade is not only a win-win on its own but also goes a long way towards fixing the original Luka-For-AD trade by solving both teams’ major roster issues without costing any draft capital.
While the Mavs get Austin Reaves, who’s the best player in the trade, the Lakers receive equal value in acquiring center Daniel Gafford and power forward to PJ Washington plus getting team favorite Max Christie back.
Bottom line, Nico and Rob reimagined Luka-For-AD trade so L.A. receives Doncic, Kleber, Morris, Gafford, and Washington while Dallas receives
Davis, Reaves, Hachimura, Knecht, and the Lakers’ 2029 first round pick.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS’ POST-TRADE DEPTH CHART
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The Lakers’ post-trade revised depth chart now has Luke Doncic starting at point guard, Max Christie at shooting guard, LeBron James at small forward, PJ Washington at power forward, and Daniel Gafford at center.
The re-imagined Luka-For-AD trade has dramatically solved the Lakers front court defensive problems by replacing center Jaxson Hayes with Daniel Gafford and power forward Rui Hachimura with PJ Washington.
With Max Christie returning and replacing Austin Reaves at starting shooting guard, the Lakers have defensively upgraded three of their five starting positions as Nico and Rob re-imagined the Luka-For-AD trade.
Financially, the Lakers remain under the first apron after the trade, which opens up the possibility that they could use the $14.2 million per year NT MLE and the $5.7 million BAE to sign a pair of elite free agents wings.
For the Lakers to have enough cap space under the first apron to use the NT MLE and BAE, LeBron James would have to re-sign with a discount to create enough space under the cap for the Lakers to use their exceptions.
Assuming LeBron was willing to take less so that the Lakers could add two valuable role players to a dramatically improved and balance starting lineup and rotation, the Lakers could catapult themselves to title favorites.
There are going to be some very valuable role players available for the $14.2 million per year NT MLE and the $5.7 million per year BAE. Players are going to be fighting for an opportunity to join a championship team.
If the Rob and Nico can pull off this re-imagining of the Luka-For-AD trade and Pelinka can use the NT MLE and BAE to land another pair of two-way role players, the Lakers will become legitimate championship contenders.
DALLAS MAVERICKS’ POST-TRADE DEPTH CHART
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The Mavs’ post-trade depth chart has Austin Reaves starting at point until Kyrie returns, Klay Thompson at shooting guard, Cooper Flagg at small forward, Anthony Davis at power forward, and Dereck Lively at center.
Once Kyrie returns, the Mavs starting lineup will revert to Kyrie Irving at the point, Klay Thompson at two guard, rookie Cooper Flagg at small forward, Anthony Davis at power forward, and Dereck Lively at center.
The re-imagined Luka-For-AD trade completely revamped the Mavs’ bench and depth by adding Austin Reaves to back up Kyrie Irving, Dalton Knecht to backup Klay Thompson, and Rui Hachimura to backup Anthony Davis.
The re-imagined Luka-For-AD trade also gives Mavs three elite shooters to create space for Dallas’ new superstar front court in shooting guard Austin Reaves, small forward Dalton Knecht, and power forward Rui Hachimura.
The versatility and offensive firepower Dallas gains by adding Reaves, Hachimura, and Knecht via the second Lakers and Mavs trade is what makes the re-imagined Luka-For-AD trade a legitimate win-win trade.
In fact, there’s an argument to be made that once the offseason dust has settled, the Dallas Mavericks could suddenly become the new favorites to win the 2025–26 NBA Championship rather than the Los Angeles Lakers.
While the re-imagined Luka-For-AD trade solved the Lakers starting center issue and the backcourt defensive problem, Dallas may have benefitted even more than Los Angeles by the second Lakers and Mavericks trade.
Bottom line, re-imagining the Luka-For-AD trade could conceivably leave the Dallas Mavericks with the deepest and most talented starting lineups and rotations in the entire NBA and make them the title favorites.