Nico would have the chance to be vindicated if he got 4 first round picks and a good young player with high upside. But he instead traded for Street Clothes

YOU CANT SAY YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT LUKA’S DURABILITY WHEN YOU ARE GETTING ANTHONY FUCKING DAVIS AS THE MAIN PIECE COMING BACK

Except they traded for AD, who is older and more injury prone, and said it was because of defense (and accused Luka of being lazy)

But sure say whatever

February 2nd is Nico Harrison day out here in LA.

Being in good shape doesn’t exclude you from injuries. What the hell is this take

Lowe isn’t wrong here. There was two separate issues, one arguable, the other was not. The not arguable one was that the value returned for Luka was preposterously low and only wanting AD in return and that’s it is malpractice. The arguable issue was whether or not it was good to trade Luka. I think it’s fair to make the argument that as a franchise you didn’t want to ride the risk train of Luka’s body. The problem is that even if you give Nico the grace of allowing that argument, it runs antithetical to the centerpiece of the return in AD. So Nico never gets a victory lap no matter what happens to Luka’s body, his inherent logic of the whole deal is a paradox.

Lotta nico fans in here

It’s not trading Luka, it’s the objectively terrible return.

If they weren’t gifted cooper flag they are a bottom 3 west team for a decade

this is like the 2nd time in Luka’s career where he has missed significant playoff time. He only missed 65 games by one game this season and out of the top 5 he’s near the top in minutes played last season. This is stupid.

wtf is the logic here. nico traded cause luka was fat. acting like nico knew luka would get injured while no longer being fat is some revisionist bs.

Zach Lowe really fell off when he joined the Ringer. Same list of annoying guests and they talk about Bill Simmons takes endlessly like I’m supposed to care

Every basketball podcaster gets worse during the offseason. Just take a fucking month off bro, we don’t need to hear you spout bullshit

The Lakers getting as far as they did with all of the injuries and fuckass roster is insane. However why Luka got injuried was having to carry said fuck ass roster. Much better team this year and there is no LeBron. We will see.

Yeah, I’m of the opinion that the Mavs logic for wanting to trade Luka wasn’t necessarily a flawed one.

But the process, and what they got back for him, was utter shit.

Wow Luka has injury concerns? Surely that means the Mavs traded for an always available player with no injury history.

nothing and I repeat nothing justifies that trade

Two things can be true guys

Could have gotten any fucking player in the league and they went with AD…

That shit can never be downplayed and acted as if it was a smart move😂

People were questioning the lack of returns more so than the actual trade. It’s like selling a 1m house and instead of listing it on the market for 1m, you went to an acquaintance of yours and asked him if he would buy it for 100k, which he accepted and you were delighted thinking that was a good business deal

Sports commentary guys are the worst.

male pattern hair loss with those hats…

At least my team didn’t trade for Paul George.

Being afraid that your star player will miss too much time with injuries and therefore training him for Anthony Davis who’s made of glass is certainly a choice 

Like I’m not a Luka hater or anything but the last season was supposed to be that season when they were able to fight for something and eventually we get to the point where 40-year-old Lebron get the Lakers through the first round. We still didn’t have a full-time Luka. Hope the next season will be better but yeah, I’m starting to understand the doubt

No it wasnt, tell me you have no intelligence

If Mavs got 3 or 4 unprotected First round picks, then you could say “hey with Luka’s injury maybe that trade wasnt so bad”

But they got ONE NOT TWO NOT THREE NOT FOUR BUT ONE first round pick unprotected and Anthony Davis who is always injured himself.

And then subsequently traded Anthony Davis for non-lottery picks

I think all this durability talk is overblown tbh. Last year is the first year Luka has missed the playoffs due to injury, and it came with having the highest usage rate in the league. We’re of course hoping that with a better bench this season he won’t have to play as many minutes and carry as much.

[deleted]

And they traded for AD that got injured ON HIS DEBUT and only played on the court with Kyrie for 25 total minutes.

I am of the belief that you can’t win with Luka as your best player. I’ll die on this hill. Making it to the finals does not necessarily mean he was that close to winning. That being said Nico should’ve gotten way more for him

It’s not just about Luka getting traded. It’s about what he got in return.

At this point I think Lowe just hate Luka. Always got something negative to say about him.

They could have gotten a way better package for Luka than AD

Ok but they traded for fucking Anthony Davis not even a Jaylen Brown

Lowe just has hate boner towards Luka

Idk why people believe him when he says he isn’t still a Boston homer. His takes regarding the lakers are always horrible.

Zach Lowe talking about anyone being in shape with that screenshot is hilarious on the surface.

But, yeah. When any of us talk about athletes being on shape, we are talking about pro athlete standards.

The Mavs trading Luka because they were concerned about his long-term health is defendable.

Four firsts and multiple pick swaps and a young player or two?

I’m not sure I would have done it, but you can defend that.

But, if trading Luka is about worries of future health, your return CAN NOT FUCKING BE Anthony Davis!!!

And only one future first.

That…just doesn’t make sense.

Ever since the trade happened Lowe has really wanted to get to be contrarian and say “the Mavs actually were correct” and he is still really wanting to say that when that ship clearly sailed Febuary 3rd.

Zach Lowe has really been dragging on Luka…

Am I the only one that thinks this wasn’t the “fleecing” that 99% of fans think it is.

AD, when healthy, is like a Top 3~5 Two-Way player.

His biggest knock is being hurt, but Luka was hurt all playoffs last year. It’s almost a wash, if neither is available when it counts.

Nobody was saying that Nico’s concerns about Luka’s injury history were unfounded.  The problem is they traded for a guy who’s Mavericks career would be measured in hours. 

Yes, yes, he should have just told his leg not to get injured. What a moron.

still stupid take since he traded him for anthony davis. also he was putting up mvp numbers that season. can’t really understand why these people try to justify that trade when even if you’re not a top nba analyst, you’ll know it’s a bad trade.

Nico the GOAT

too much usage rate during the regular season. his body breaks down beginning/during the playoffs when teams start having to scheme against him. always playing through some type of injury

Yeah fuck you Luka. Hopefully you’ll resign with the Lakers longterm on a discounted rate.

wink wink

Unpopular opinion but I’m not sold on the Luka hype train, 2 years with the oldest player in the league as his duo and somehow the 42 year old was healthier. It’s a yearly thing at this point where he will miss significant time and he’s several years away from his 30th birthday. He doesn’t have the health or roster to be a threat in the league atm.

Trading Luka was fine I can understand kind of but for what they traded him for is literally insane

Both franchises will be irrelevant from now on

Nah Nico traded Luka in the cut like he was selling a fake watch to a pawn shop. Took whatever he could get on the low

Wow. So let’s replace him with someone else who gets even more injured lol yeah STFU

Stop with this stupid fucking narrative. Luka is winning MVP this year. Get off his dick

It doesnt matter theres really fragile guys no matter how misfit or fit they are.

Yall brining up AD is moving the goalposts

I legit think that team in Dallas was Luka’s best chance to win a ring as the guy. Like others have pointed out I don’t think his body will hold up and by the time the Lakers are able to build a proper team around him it’ll be too late

Zach Lowe got so much power over snarky white NBA fans that we’re really looking at Nico’s side on a popular NBA space lmao

Weight is not an indicator by itself of being in-shape.

Lots of eyes gonna be on Luka with getting Lebron out of there and now newer ownership, he better keep himself healthy enough for the playoffs

Even if you were concerned, you get a haul for the guy..a glass big and floatsam is nowhere near enough

That hamstring injury hurt so much. He was playing at an insanely high level leading up to that.

But they got Anthony Davis.. foh man

These mfers are STILL working overtime trying to convince people that the Luka trade was something that it was not

They had a 6 week schedule with no 2 days rest and multiple back to backs. Also, in that okc game, both Austin and him got hurt, but there was a bit of negligence on that medical staff side (also jj redick been playing them heavy minutes). They both should’ve been pulled out earlier. They had like 3 game cushion as the 3rd seed.

Caloric intake is Luka’s father

Lowe get luka off your f mouth. You got no topics to discuss e

Wait I don’t see a new episode in my feed. When was this?

Having a pro athlete on the cover of Men’s Health is akin to making a nerd in Mensa take your high school tests.

All this geek does is run his mouth about Luka for publicity