Canzano: Sunday thoughts, facts, and opinions
Luka to Lakers?!? Pac-12... Memphis or UNLV?
Thoughts, facts, and opinions for your Sunday:
• Hold up… Luka Doncic is on the Lakers?!?
• NBA writer Marc Stein is terrific on this stuff. He reported on Saturday night that Doncic did not request a trade from Dallas. Stein called the deal “one of the most stunning trade thunderbolts in NBA history.”
• The Lakers get Doncic, Maxi Kleber. and Markieff Morris. The Mavericks get Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick.
• GM Nico Harrison is getting roasted on social media. He should be. The trade is malpractice. One first-round pick? For a guy who is going to average a triple-double in the playoffs?
• Harrison told reporters he reached out to Bill Duffy, Doncic’s agent to inform him of the trade. He also texted Doncic and left a message but didn’t hear back. “My guess is he probably doesn't want to talk to me,” Harrison said.
• The Mavericks were concerned about Doncic’s conditioning and facing having to pay him a supermax contract extension. OK. But I wonder, have they seen him play basketball!?!
• If you were wondering what the fallout from Mark Cuban selling his majority stake in the Mavericks would be — this is it, folks. As Cuban said in 2020: “If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer’s office prepping for a divorce.”
• I received lots of feedback after I reported on the Pac-12’s ongoing quest to expand and add another member. A current Mountain West football coach read the piece, called me on Saturday, and said something interesting.