Lakers got Luka Dončić by the NBA trade deadline, but what about the deal they undid?

New York Times

10-02-2025

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The most compelling part of the Super Bowl was whether or not Kendrick Lamar would perform that song. He did, and it was great. But the game was a dud for non-Eagles fans. This is why I'm proposing a seven-game series for future Super Bowls! 💡
Yes, the Thunder somehow got scarier
Once again, we've got an NBA Stock Report in which some of the selections for the teams trending in the right direction might feel a little obvious. This isn't a list of surprisingly good teams. When the best squads in the NBA are trending positively, you can't just ignore it because we already knew these teams are great. Sometimes, you need to acknowledge the run they're on, even if it seems overt. This is your latest NBA Stock Report!
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📈 The Thunder (42-9) have won five straight games, as they continue to push themselves to the top of the league standings. The most dominant team in the NBA also just got Chet Holmgren back into the mix. His return comes at a time in which the Thunder almost don't seem fair. Of their last 15 wins, only one of them has been by single digits.
📉 The Bucks (28-23) have lost six of their last 10 games. It's not a massive drop-off, but Milwaukee did also receive some frustrating news. Giannis Antetokounmpo has a calf injury that will cost him a week, including the All-Star Game. The Bucks have also been abysmal on defense lately. If they can just get through this week and get Antetokounmpo's' calf to heal, they should be fine.
📈 Timberwolves (30-23): Minnesota has won three in a row and eight of its last 10 games. The Wolves' offense has been stellar in recent weeks, and it's fueled by Anthony Edwards going on a big run. This is who the Wolves had hoped to be this season.
📉 Spurs (22-28): We have all these good feelings about the Spurs right now because of the De'Aaron Fox acquisition. But the preferred results aren't there yet. The Spurs have been slipping lately, going 4-12 in their last 16 games. They also lost back-to-back one-point outings against Charlotte (13-37) and Orlando (26-28). The Spurs are closer to being passed by Portland (23-30, 13th in West) than they are to charging toward the Play-In.
📈 Cavaliers (42-10): After a brief three-game losing streak to knock them off a 70-win pace, the Cavs are back to positive streaking. They've won six of their last seven games, with the only loss coming against the Celtics (37-16). They just upgraded their wing position by trading for De'Andre Hunter. This Cavs team is getting better.
📉 Pelicans (12-40): I don't want to pile on to a Pelicans season that has been brutal, but New Orleans has lost eight straight games. Zion Williamson has played in six of those matchups. The Pelicans just traded away Brandon Ingram and lost Dejounte Murray to a torn Achilles' tendon. Trey Murphy III has been scoring at a high level with great efficiency. None of it has mattered, though.
Dallas will be without its new acquisition for weeks
🩼 Anthony Davis out. The new Mavs star could miss a month with an adductor strain.
The moments in between: AD's debut 🎥 #MFFL pic.twitter.com/wz1fipYaWA
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 9, 2025
🏀 See you next year. John Hollinger wrote about the 2025 NBA trade deadline being all about 2026. Also, Victor Wembanyama looms!
🏀 Ben Simmons' new team. After a buyout with the Nets, it looks like the three-time All-Star will sign with the Clippers. Is this a good move?
✍️ Hoops history. Are you really familiar with the Harlem Globetrotters? Check out this deep dive on their 99-year impact on basketball and society.
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📺 Don't miss this game tonight. Timberwolves at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET on League Pass. Two of the hottest teams in basketball face off.
📺 Late-night League Pass. Jazz (12-39) at Lakers (31-19), 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and Fubo (try for free). Here's hoping we get Luka Dončić's Lakers debut!
Why did the Lakers rescind their trade with the Hornets?
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while, a trade gets agreed upon by a couple of teams, but the deal gets rescinded before it can go through. When this happens before the deadline buzzer has sounded, the trade can be reworked to potentially offer extra compensation (cash, picks, player, full box set of The Sopranos, etc.). When concerns over a trade happen after the deadline has passed, it's take it or leave it. Nothing else can be done to amend the deal. That's what happened with the Lakers and the Hornets over the weekend.
The Lakers decided to repeal the trade that would've sent 23-year-old rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Hornets for 23-year-old big man Mark Williams. Los Angeles had concerns about Williams' medicals and didn't feel comfortable completing the trade. This is a rare occurrence, but there is an interesting history with overturned trades. Maybe you have questions about this! Maybe I have answers! Let's talk about this:
Why did the Lakers annul this? Either Williams didn't pass a physical or there was something in the scans the Lakers didn't like. Team executive Rob Pelinka had previously stated things seemed fine with Williams, but the team still needed to do a full physical. Whether the concerns are about Williams' previously injured back or his knees, the Lakers chose not to go through with the trade that would have filled their glaring need at the center position. Williams has played in only 85 games in two-plus seasons.
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Have voided trades happened before? Three deals come to mind. The most famous one is the Tyson Chandler trade that got nixed because of an apparent toe injury. In 2009, he was traded by the Hornets to the Thunder for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and the rights to DeVon Hardin. Chandler would've joined Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka. Instead, he ended up getting traded to the Bobcats months later before eventually ending up in Dallas, where he won a title in 2011.
We also had a Donatas Motiejūnas trade in 2016 get rescinded due to back issues. The Rockets traded him to Detroit, but the Pistons voided the deal. It was the second time these two teams were involved in a voided trade. The Pistons traded Sean Elliot to the Rockets for Robert Horry and Matt Bullard in 1994, but Elliot failed his physical.
What can the Lakers do about this? Nothing now. The Lakers can only add to their roster with some buyout options or G-League players. They could have had Bismack Biyombo, but he signed a 10-day deal with San Antonio.
So, what are they left with in the meantime? Jaxson Hayes, so they really need to find another option.
Are the Hornets happy about this? I can't imagine they are! They're saying the right things. But it's fair to wonder if this front office is going to want to deal with the Lakers on anything in the future.
What went down behind the scenes in Miami
Until Dončić was inexplicably traded away from Dallas, the biggest drama we had in the NBA was Jimmy Butler wanting out from Heat employment. They wouldn't give him the extension he wanted, so he decided to make things uncomfortable until they traded him where he wanted to go — or at least deal him to a place that would give him the two-year, $112 million extension so he could find his joy again.
In some stellar reporting from my colleagues at The Athletic, we have a fantastic accounting of what led to all of this, including the drama leading up to Butler's trade to the Warriors (26-26). There's a lot to unpack from the article, but this was the part that caught my attention the most:
Butler and Riley met in person on the afternoon of Jan. 7 to establish some ground rules for how this messy situation would proceed. What followed, according to sources on both sides, was instead an emotional, two-hour sit-down that left Butler bewildered by his 79-year-old boss' behavior and Riley at a loss for how to reach the mercurial 35-year-old star.
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From Butler's vantage point, Riley was 'unhinged and disturbing,' as a league source close to him described it. More specifically, Butler told those close to him that the longtime team president referenced Butler's recently deceased father several times during the meeting, offered 'unsolicited and unwanted' parenting advice and even shed tears before ending the meeting by telling Butler he loved him.
My goodness! That is one big ball of awkwardness right there! Riley says he was calm during the meeting and let Butler guide the discussion. But he did get emotional when thinking of his own father as the topic of Butler's recently deceased father came up in the meeting. None of this ends up being fair when you start dissecting someone's emotions, but I know the fallout I've received in texts and messages following this article is about whether or not Riley has lost a step or two when it comes to running the Heat.
It's a fair question. The Heat have not been able to capitalize on pursuing big names. In the last few years, they were supposed to pair Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal with Butler and Bam Adebayo. Riley couldn't land any of those names, and it eventually cost him Butler in an indirect way. When your greatest strength is bringing in the disgruntled or wayward star, you have to deliver on that. Riley hasn't been able to do that recently.
The Heat still have a good team and maintain some flexibility moving forward. But they don't have anything close to a contender. Eventually, they have to figure out how to get this franchise to its next fruitful era – with or without Riley calling the shots.
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