You rarely see one-team athletes anymore. So long are those who commit to one city for their entire careers, it seems.
I don’t know. Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Derek Jeter, and Dustin Pedroia, to name a few.
This past week has been a hectic one if you’re an NBA fan. Former Dallas star Luka Doncic, widely-regarded as a top-five player in the league, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
It didn’t stop there – not by a long shot.
De’Aaron Fox is now in San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul, while former Heat star Jimmy Butler finally got his wish and was traded to the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA trade deadline – for years – has been the best deadline in sports. This week proved that no matter how big of a star or how great you are, there’s always a chance you can be moved.
I’ll state my opinion on the Luka trade now: The Mavs screwed up.
Doncic recently put the entire franchise on his back to get to the finals. Yes, you lost to a better, more athletic, more deserving Celtics team, but Doncic wasn’t the reason they lost.
Dallas’ general manager, Nico Harrison, decided to ship off his All-Star and MVP candidate for Anthony Davis. His reasoning was “defense wins championships.” Reports also suggest the Mavs were concerned with Luka’s conditioning.
So, what does Dallas do? It gets an aging, injury-prone Davis.
I digress…
I’m not a Mavs fan, so I don’t care much, but it’s crazy how even as a top-five player in the league, you can still be blindsided by a trade.
NBA veteran Dennis Schroder sparked controversy earlier this week when he said the NBA trade deadline is like “modern slavery.” He was then traded Wednesday night.
There’s just no loyalty anymore (owners/general managers to players).
And not to panic the Celtics’ fanbase too much, but there’s a good chance Jaylen Brown will be moved next season because of how much tax Boston might pay Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Derrick White. It’s not a sustainable business model to pay all of those taxes, especially when the owners don’t own the TD Garden.
Who knows, maybe Boston’s next owner is on the same level of wealth as Steve Balmer and they’ll be able to spend money without having to worry about tax.
Owners tend to think with their pockets. Moving on from Doncic means the Mavs don’t have to commit to the supermax deal (roughly five years, $340 million).
Either way, as someone who grew up watching Kobe, Dirk, Tim Duncan, Steph Curry, and others, it’s all pretty wild to me.
Not many players stick to one team throughout their careers anymore. Remember that old quarterback New England used to have?
