Proposed earth-shattering Luka Doncic Lakers trade lands Thunder's $100 million NBA Finals MVP

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the blockbuster Luka Doncic-Los Angeles Lakers trade. 

Doncic, along with Dallas Mavericks teammates Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, was traded to the Lakers for Max Christie, Anthony Davis, and a 2029 first-round pick. The trade will go down as one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history, as the Mavericks are already looking to move on from Davis while Doncic is thriving in his first full season with the Lakers. 

It’s unlikely Doncic gets traded again in his career. However, Andy Bailey decided to have some fun by proposing another earth-shattering deal involving the six-time All-Star.

The hypothetical scenario would swap Doncic for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2025 NBA Finals MVP. 

“We already mentioned this one at the top,” Bailey wrote Sunday. “And frankly, it's borderline ludicrous (Doncic and a 2031 first-round pick to the Thunder for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) from the perspective of both teams. The Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder would probably both say no.”

“Luka turns 27 this month, is the second-best offensive engine in the NBA (behind only Nikola Jokić), and is a perennial MVP candidate.SGA's only a year older, could become a two-time MVP this season, and already has a title to his name.”

“Again, both sides would probably say no to the very idea of this trade. But the Thunder, given the fact that they're trending toward a second straight title, would say it a little more aggressively, which is why the Lakers are the side throwing in a pick on this one.”

As far as realistic trade ideas go, Bailey missed the mark on this one. To the NBA journalist’s credit, he acknowledged that it’s difficult to imagine a world where Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander switched places and altered the NBA landscape. 

That said, it is an interesting concept to examine. Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are both superstar lead guards who have proven they can drastically elevate a franchise as top playmakers. 

Doncic guided the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals and has the Lakers in position to be a dark horse championship contender this season. Gilgeous-Alexander helped Oklahoma City capture its first-ever championship last year, and it’s safe to assume it's the title favorite in 2025-26. 

At the end of the day, both phenoms are doing just fine with their current teams, giving fans zero reasons to believe a trade could ever materialize.

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