We have to act now. The Western Conference is wide open. The only two teams I was genuinely concerned about in these playoffs were the Mavericks and the Thunder. But with this trade shaking things up, the path is clearer than ever. If we’re serious about contending, this is our moment to make a run. No hesitation. Let’s go all in.
The West didn't get any more "open" lol after this trade... the threats that we have to deal with are still the same.
The Lakers' biggest weakness was defense, and now, with Luka in the mix, it’s essentially a layup line for opposing teams. It’s clear they made this move with the future in mind, looking to build around Luka next season. I wouldn’t be surprised if this signals LeBron’s departure—possibly to Golden State. Meanwhile, I could see the Mavs making a serious push for Jimmy Butler to bolster their toughness and two-way play. And as for the Suns? This might finally be the breaking point where they decide to blow it all up and start fresh. The West is shifting fast, and teams need to make their moves now. The west is open so we need to get a win now player!!!
The recent trade also dictates the value of rumored players this deadline. We also have a future Mavs pick that is highly valuable right now
The Mavs just became a more balanced team. AD just dropped 40 and 20 a couple days ago. They're more of a treat now imo.
They gave up a 25 year old perennial mvp candidate for a 31 year old injury prone player. AD is very talented but he’s Mr. Glass.
My response was only talking about the West race this year and of those players one has only played 22/49 games and it's not AD.
With this trade, the West is unknown except for OKC and the Rockets still have issues closing games, do they do a panic move and go after a Fox or Booker? It feels like this we be a busy trade deadline.
I get it but for 25 year old Luka all they got was AD? No Austin reeves or other assets? They could have have gotten a lot more for him.
I definitely agree that the Mavs should have gotten more for Luka but this thread is just about how open the West is this year and the ages of the players don't really factor into that. The Mavs are more of a threat to the 2025 NBA championship today than they were yesterday. The Mavs are just the 8th seed right now and that's mostly because of Luka's health. AD, while historically injury prone, is healthy right now.
Yeah I disagree it actually improved Dallas this year. Dallas just became better version of 2024 Wolves. The front court of Gafford and AD gonna make it tough for other teams to score in the paint.
The Lakers are 100% the favorite with OKC once they trade Reeves to address their defense. Role players are very easy to add, and that's all they need to support these 2. You need zero in the way of significant offensive talent.
I don't think the Lakers will try to contend this year. I don't even think bron will stay. If he did a team with bron and luka is gunna get expose so bad on defense.
