Shocking Luka Doncic trade highlights Raptors' front office genius in hindsight

Let's set the scene.

It's past 12 AM on a Sunday morning, and I'm just about ready to call it a night when I get an X notification on my phone.

Then it happened.

The Shams tweet read as follows:

I could not believe what I was reading. This had to be some sick joke by a hacker, right? Lo and behold, Shams would further reiterate that this was, in fact, "It's 1000% real."

And there you have it, folks. Some 12+ hours later, the fever dream-esque feeling is setting in as an absurd NBA reality: Luka Doncic is headed to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Anthony Davis will pair up with Kyrie Irving on the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic traded to Dallas Mavericks in blockbuster NBA transaction

Obviously, I was just as stunned as the next fan. Jokes aside, I know a ton of NBA news headlines will read "league-shattering" or something loaded with that nature, but this is literally when a statement of such degree is appropriate. This is one of those basketball business moves where you'll look back in time and recall exactly where you were/what you were doing in that moment.

So, turning things over, how do the Toronto Raptors fit into all this? Well, they're not directly linked to this deal, and I wouldn't get my hopes up too much about a deal of this nature being completed for Toronto.

The Raptors are expected to be major players at the forthcoming NBA trade deadline, but no deal is going to overshadow this one. Although, I also have the slight inkling that a ton of guys deemed 'safe' are no longer untouchable.

For the Raptors' front office, they've garnered a mix reaction over the years for business transactions that might've been deemed foolish or poorly executed. Just off the top of my head, the infamous Vince Carter trade immediately comes to mind. Or maybe, on a more recent note, fans have divided opinions on how the Raptors dealt with Pascal Siakam, opting to trade him for a relatively weak package.

Now, this Luka Doncic trade topples any other weak GM business decision completed or passed up on in recent memory.

Raptors' front office looks savvy next to Mavericks' Luka Doncic mismanagement

Let's recall. A couple of years ago, there were rumblings of the Raptors' interest in acquiring Kevin Durant through a trade; however, Brooklyn highly coveted Toronto's young star, Scottie Barnes, in a potential return.

Sure, a core of KD, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet would probably look dominant in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, the Raptors' front office had high doubts about jeopardizing their future for maybe a three-to-four-year window of winning NBA championships.

Looking at the Luka Doncic deal, the same rules apply, except, with all due respect to Scottie Barnes, we're talking about a perennial MVP candidate who just made the NBA Finals last year. The Mavs put an abrupt end to Doncic leading the fray in favor of an older, yet in their prime star duo to help fast track their title hopes immediately.

But, when that core is finally depleted and breaking down, what do they have to look forward to?

It's a double-edged sword in basketball fandom. Would you much rather see a beloved team succeed in the short term, or have the building blocks in place to create a potential dynasty for the next generation?

I'd like to think you value the future rather than jumping the gun at maximizing a prime core, and the Raptors front office certainly thought so too, as they opted not to include Barnes in trade talks.

Toronto had another shot to acquire a win-now star in Damian Lillard when he hit the trade market in the 2023 offseason, but once again, Scottie Barnes was deemed untouchable.

And now, despite the struggles and endless adversity, Toronto willingly pulled the plug on trying to compete and shifted its focus to a rebuild. They shipped out OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, putting a definitive end to the last generation of championship-era Raptors players standing.

Unfortunately for Dallas, they did not think the same. Say what you want about Doncic, but he had them set to compete now and for the future. Maybe Dallas gets the last laugh, and they win a couple of chips. Perhaps Doncic on the Lakers turns out to be a bust.

Regardless of the impending outcomes, one thing's for sure: this trade set the NBA world on fire, and that flame isn't going to die out anytime soon.