Needless to say, the February trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers shocked everybody. It was especially shocking for a Mavericks franchise that was coming off a trip to the NBA Finals last year and seemed to have at least one more deep playoff run upcoming in the near future.
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd was one of the most stunned people in the organization following the deal. He had developed a connection with Doncic ever since becoming the team’s head coach for the 2021-22 season, and he said during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he hasn’t talked to the superstar since shortly after the trade went down.
With the NBA Draft next month and free agency a week after that, NBA trade rumors are starting to fly fast and furious around the league’s back channels. Here are a few worth noting.
Lakers likely keep Austin Reaves
Rob Pelinka faces a challenge this offseason: He needs to upgrade the roster around Luka Doncic and LeBron James — landing a rim-protecting, vertical spacing center is at the top of the list — but has limited trade assets to do it.
