Whenever two teams make a trade, sports fans feel the need to declare a clear-cut ‘winner’ and ‘loser.’
NBA fans watched in awe as Luka Dončić and the Mavericks steamrolled the Phoenix Suns last night to clinch their spot in the Western Conference Finals. While crediting the 4th-year Slovenian for his performance this postseason, Jon Chuckery is telling fans who are declaring the Mavericks the ‘winner’ of the 2018 draft-day trade that sent Dončić to Dallas and Trae Young to Atlanta to slow their roll.
While the Hawks were bounced from the 2022 playoffs in the first round after an up-and-down season, it wasn’t long ago that Young electrified the league as he carried Atlanta to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jon says that, while impressive, Luka hasn’t surpassed anything that the Hawks' young star has accomplished.
“Luka is simply doing what Trae Young did last year. It’s not like Luka Dončić has done anything differently than Trae Young did…Trae Young was the unquestioned, absolute lynchpin as to why the Hawks advanced to the ECF last year and were a couple of wins away from being in the NBA Finals…He was the guy, last year, that did more to build his brand than any other single solitary player. While Luka was getting knocked out in the first round, he was out there leading his team to the ECF,” Chuckery said.
Chuckery also asked why fans can’t concede the fact that the 2018 trade simply benefited both teams with both players elevating their respective franchises in a short amount of time.
Among those who believe that Dončić has surpassed Young, who led the NBA in total points scored and assists in the regular season, is CBS’ Brad Botkin. While Botkin agrees that Young is an incredible talent, he told Chuckery that, in his eyes, Dončić is becoming a transcendent star.
“It’s just a difficult thing because Trae is such a phenomenal player, so unfortunately he got traded for Luka Dončić, who is starting to shape up as like a Michael Jordan-type player of his era. Trae Young could end up being like the Charles Barkley of his era; phenomenal, a Hall of Fame, MVP-type player once in a while, yet you gave away Luka Dončić,” Botkin said.
Botkin expressed his belief that “nobody would trade Luka Dončić for Trae Young right now.” Arguing that it’s not a slight against Young, Botkin said that would be like saying no one would trade Steph Curry for Dame Lillard.
Both Young and Dončić are among the next wave of starts in the NBA, however, in the years to come, it will be up to the Hawks' front office to build the roster around Young to ensure 2021 wasn’t just a blip on the radar.