Shaquille O’Neal is one of many Hall of Fame-level superstars the Lakers have been able to get their hands on over the years. But that doesn’t mean he necessarily thinks his former team won the Luka Doncic trade.
Los Angeles stunned the NBA world by acquiring the Slovenian-born prodigy from the Mavericks over the weekend in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
And while Shaq likes the idea of Luka and LeBron playing together in Hollywood — it’s Dallas, he believes, that’s better setup for the immediate future.
“For the next 2 years, I think Dallas won that trade.” 👀
Shaq on the Luka & AD trade. pic.twitter.com/wkCrTxtcSI
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 5, 2025
“Obviously Dallas didn’t want to move forward with one of the greatest young players that we’ve seen today. I wish the business of basketball could have been handled a little better,” Shaq explained. “I think a guy with five years in the league and five All-NBA’s would at least get the conversation like, ‘Hey, things are not going well this could possibly happen…'”
“… But now he’s in La La Land,” O’Neal said. “His jersey is going from No. 6 to No. 1. You know, there was a lot of speculation of can him and [LeBron] play with each other. And the answer is: yes, of course they can play with each other. It’s going to be interesting. However, I think Dallas got the better of the trade— for the next two years anyway.”
It’s possible that could end up being the case right now. But it’s hard to imagine over the long haul that this won’t go down as one of worst self-inflicted wounds in basketball history.
While Anthony Davis is an excellent player, he’s getting older and has a history of injuries — and the same can be said for his co-star Kyrie Irving.
Meanwhile, Doncic is still only 25-years-old and should be as motivated as ever to get back at the franchise that cost him over $100 million and tried to throw dirt on his name on the way out the door.
The the real winner of the trade is the NBA for stealing headlines ahead of the biggest game on the sports calendar. After that… time will tell.
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