NBA Legend, Former Cavalier Shares Theory About Luka Doncic Trade

An NBA legend and former Cleveland Cavaliers player shared a theory about the Luka Doncic trade.

Dec 25, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Even though Dwyane Wade did not spend a lot of time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, there was a time when he was expected to be a big piece in helping the team get back to the NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out as planned and Wade only played in 46 games with three of those appearances being in the starting lineup.

Despite not playing long with the Cavaliers, he was still a member of the team for a short period of time.

Following the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, Wade spoke out with his theory. He seems to think that the league and owners had a huge role in deciding that Doncic to the Lakers was a way for the NBA to make money.

“First of all, I said to myself, before all the reports come out I said, no players were involved in this decision; this is billionaires' business,” Wade said. “This was at the top; the last 12 to 15 years, the players have decided what we want to do. This was the owners, the governors, the billionaires deciding what they want to do.”

He continued on, talking more about the financial impact of Doncic being in Los Angeles.

“This is amazing from the standpoint of the business of the game. Luka was number six in jersey sales in Dallas, Luka now shoots to number 1 in jersey sales with the Lakers,” Wade noted. “Now the international market, think about it; we just signed a new TV deal, what $25 billion, let's just throw it out there, $25 billion TV deal."

“You got the top international player in LA, so the viewership, the ticket sales. Everybody, Europe, Spain, they’re all coming into LA, so I’m looking at the business. I’m like, this was an amazing business decision by billionaires to say this is what I want for now, and this is what we need as a league,” Wade concluded.

Wade could be 100 percent correct. It was strange to see Doncic traded for so little. Basically, he was given to the Lakers.

Granted, Anthony Davis is a great player. However, Doncic is a generational talent. The fact that Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison didn't open up to other teams to get the best offer possible was strange, to say the least.

All of that being said, Wade has good reasoning behind his theory. Doncic being traded to the Lakers has already been called arguably the biggest and most shocking trade in recent sports history.

It will be interesting to see the long-term ramifications of the trade on the league in years to come.