Who said the NBA isn't interesting anymore? Everyone in the sports world reacted to the late-night news from Shams Charania. Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic have swapped locations in a three-team trade with the Utah Jazz. Many are coming down hard on the Texas-based organization. But one of the more well-known basketball voices with a national platform made sure that everyone else knew that he thought differently.
Kendrick Perkins took to X and claimed in a post, "Dallas won in this trade. AD and Kyrie are going to be special!!!" This appears to be a bold claim, just for engineering farming to some. However, taking it at face value, there is some validity to what is being said. Or at least, people can see where he is coming from.
There is a lot of speculation about the motive behind Dallas making this move in the first place. Long story short, it appears that their vision of what they expected from their star did not align with the player's viewpoint. Furthermore, the Mavericks now have a more conventional one-two punch with a backcourt and frontcourt player to lead the charge.
Combine the unwillingness to work past their differences; AD is a certified superstar in his own right. The former product out of Kentucky played at an MVP level to start this season's campaign and will now be paired with one of the great skilled guards of this era. Moreover, there's now an added motivation for Davis to want to prove his worth, especially as he's now seen as the one cast out by the Lakers organization.
Undeniably, this is a big risk, especially considering this nucleus is fresh off a Finals appearance. But the front office did not believe they were built for another deep postseason run. And more importantly, there's a collective belief that this duo is better suited to not only win games now but also provide more long-term flexibility.
Dallas now avoids being tied in a multi-year contract with someone that they are not all in on anyway while being able to keep future cap space open. While fans have seen what the Doncic-Irving can be at its best, the organization clearly felt that the peak had been reached. Without hope that the philosophical differences could be overcome or overall fit, they blessed the NBA community with a strong talking point that will definitely last for weeks to come.
While basketball and Perkins take over what should be a Super Bowl-focused week, the commentator's thoughts should not be dismissed out of hand. Undoubtedly, the risk is heavier on Dallas' side. However, organizational strength and conviction are most important in big moments that appear to face uniform scrutiny. Time will tell if the post and defense end up being a poorly aged-hot take. But for the Mavericks, moving off their presumed franchise centerpiece became an opportunity they wished to take advantage of.
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