Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade gave his take on the NBA’s blockbuster trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks centered on superstar Luka Doncic and All-Star Anthony Davis. The shockwaves around the association continue.
After footage of Doncic arriving in Los Angeles went viral, current players, coaches, and former stars of the association are all weighing in on the impact of the move. Wade discussed the deal on a recent episode of Trading Places.
“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.”
Firm cap restrictions and a pending supermax deal that would have been made available for Doncic played a role. For Wade, it was a business decision from the front office, which didn’t take into account anyone else’s opinions.
“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 adds. “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.
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