Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[bubbler86]

I read some news articles out of LA that were "harder' on Luka than I expected. Not hard per se but talking about him struggling. I thought he would have more buffer before that word came out.

[KillerLeft]

I read some news articles out of LA that were "harder' on Luka than I expected.  Not hard per se but talking about him struggling.  I thought he would have more buffer before that work came out.

He's in LA now. The Lakers, Celtics and (for some reason) Knicks are covered the way the Yankees and Cowboys are. If he's great there he'll reach a whole new level of stardom, but if he's mediocre or bad for too long he's going to feel that, too.

[windjc]

What if Luka signs with the Mavs in the offseason.

Niko playing 4D chess.

[SleepingHero]

What if Luka signs with the Mavs in the offseason.

Niko playing 4D chess.

I am holding out hope he will eventually return. Even if for his last season.

[Jmaciscool]

I am holding out hope he will eventually return. Even if for his last season.

Honestly, if Lebron can go back to Cleveland after the Decision fallout then Luka could find his way back here at some point (assuming Nico is gone).

[michaeltex]

More like letting Emmit Smith retire as a Cowboy.

[Chicagojk]

I watched a little bit of the game last night (first half). Not a well played game in the first half. Two notes.

1) Josh Green looks so small out there. He is really wasting a really good opportunity. He is gettting a lot of playing time for a stinky team. He still can't find way to make things happen on offense. Averaging 7 points per game for the year. I thought this would have been a real good opp for him to prove he can play a little. The minutes were there. He is just not taking advantage of them.

2) The Charlotte rookie looked rough. He is still very young, but it sucks when you are terrible all year and wind up dafting a project. Way too early to make a decision on him though. Also, no one drafted right after him has hit the ground running. That Charlotte team is so far away though.

[Nicoisthebest]

I am holding out hope he will eventually return. Even if for his last season.

Not gonna happen.  When I traded Luka - sorry, when Nico traded Luka - he knew this would probably be Luka's last season since he's so out of shape.  It's not like Luka is someone who's going to work hard every day at staying fit - he's not Shaq.

Also, loving the KD trade ideas, was trying to figure out how to get that to work so great input guys!  Just need some help getting some more second round picks in order to meet the NBA trade rules requiring second rounders to be included in every trade.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Not gonna happen.  When I traded Luka - sorry, when Nico traded Luka - he knew this would probably be Luka's last season since he's so out of shape.  It's not like Luka is someone who's going to work hard every day at staying fit - he's not Shaq.

Also, loving the KD trade ideas, was trying to figure out how to get that to work so great input guys!  Just need some help getting some more second round picks in order to meet the NBA trade rules requiring second rounders to be included in every trade.

Where did you get Shaq stayed fit?  He was just bigger and stronger than everybody. I remember when he was in Miami and he came to camp woefully out of shape. Pat Riley ripped him a new one. He was traded to Phoenix the next year.

[mvossman]

Where did you get Shaq stayed fit?  He was just bigger and stronger than everybody. I remember when he was in Miami and he came to camp woefully out of shape. Pat Riley ripped him a new one. He was traded to Phoenix the next year.

This is a bit.  He is pretending to be Nico and saying some of the dumb stuff Nico/president said, such as Luka needed work effort like Shaq.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

This is a bit.  He is pretending to be Nico and saying some of the dumb stuff Nico/president said, such as Luka needed work effort like Shaq.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. You can't tell if some of this is real or sarcasm. At least I can't. 

[DallasMaverick]

What if Luka signs with the Mavs in the offseason.

Niko playing 4D chess.

Secret deal under the table where he agrees to sign for the vet minimum.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

[Stein] The Lakers, on medical advice, will hold Luka Dončić out tonight in Portland as part of the recovery from a long-term calf injury.
Source: https://marcstein.substack.com/

The Lakers, on medical advice, will hold Luka Dončić out tonight in Portland as part of the recovery from a long-term calf injury.

The Lakers, I'm told, are pleased with his progress and optimistic he'll soon participate fully in back-to-backs.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

JJ Redick must be out of the loop. First he says Luka will spend the all star break working out getting ready for the second half and Luka says he spent the break taking his mind off basketball. Then JJ says Luka is ready to go with no restrictions. Now he's out tonight.

[Winter]

"Pleased" and "Optimistic" sound like words from the public relations office.

[LukaMVP]

luka usually skipped the 2nd half of back-to-back even when he was healthy in Dallas.

[cow]

Luka looks so out of sorts and it has little to do with how out of shape he is. I think the trade broke him (hopefully temporarily).

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

What if Luka signs with the Mavs in the offseason.

Niko playing 4D chess.

Didn't Nico lose him like $130mm?  Not sure that's a good point to pivot on and return

[F Gump]

Didn't Nico lose him like $130mm?  Not sure that's a good point to pivot on and return

Luka will get paid less, but if he has a good agent managing the way to maximize his earnings (and he does), the difference is not nearly that large. Assuming max salaries, the diff is about $16M - a massive amount to you and me, but money he will never miss when he's signing for roughly $345M or $330M in total.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Luka will get paid less, but if he has a good agent managing the way to maximize his earnings (and he does), the difference is not nearly that large. Assuming max salaries, the diff is about $16M - a massive amount to you and me, but money he will never miss when he's signing for roughly $345M or $330M in total.

Where are you getting your numbers?  Everything I see is $116mm.

Ha!  $16mm is nothing to nobody.  You think multimillionaires just burn thousand dollar bills for heat?  Money he will never miss lol

https://nypost.com/2025/02/02/sports/the...ers-trade/