The trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis remains one of the most surprising and monumental moves in NBA history. While many believe the Mavericks made a mistake in trading away their franchise cornerstone, NBA insider Skip Bayless holds a very different opinion.
The Lakers recently lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 126-106 in a game where LeBron James was unavailable. Despite Luka Doncic scoring an impressive 41 points, it wasn’t enough to secure a win. After the game, Bayless addressed the trade on his podcast, explaining why he believes Mavericks GM Nico Harrison made the right decision in dealing Doncic.
“Tonight’s Lakers game at Milwaukee on national TV was exactly why Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic and why I was good with it,” Bayless said. “Tonight, the Lakers played no defense, they don’t guard the three-point line, they just wave on defense and watch Luka shoot 3s on offense because here’s the problem with Luka, back to my point about why Dallas traded him”.
“He is a high-volume, poor three-point shooter,” Bayless continued. “Over time, you can’t win with that. Once the Dallas Mavericks got past Minnesota and made it to the Finals last year, they got shot in the foot by Luka!”
Doncic struggles without LeBron James, says Bayless
The former ESPN analyst argued that Doncic needs LeBron James to succeed, as James is the team’s defensive anchor and creates the foundation for Doncic to lead them to victory. Bayless also highlighted how fortunate Doncic is to share the court with the “King”.
“On national TV, we saw how much Luka Doncic is missing LeBron James,” Bayless remarked. “I could not understand when Luka got traded and Dirk Nowitzki had to come to LA to comfort him and his family for their opener with the Lakers. I’m like, ‘Comfort him for what? He just hit the lottery!’ He should drop down to his knees and thank the Lord that he got traded to the Los Angeles Lakers featuring LeBron James”.
Bayless admits enjoying the Doncic-LeBron pairing
While Bayless initially doubted that Doncic and LeBron could coexist due to their similar playing styles, he acknowledged his misjudgment and admitted that watching the duo has been a joy.
“Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t think over the long term they will vibe and click together because they are exactly the same player with the same faults,” Bayless said. “But I will admit so far, I have been wrong because it has become the ultimate basketball joy for me to watch these two combine their genius on the basketball floor”.