Luka Doncic has completely shifted the Los Angeles Lakers' championship outlook this season. Jimmy Butler has done the same for the Golden State Warriors. These two stars changed teams at the trade deadline and have created the two biggest storylines in the NBA over the last month, as the Lakers and Warriors are now legitimate championship contenders.
Although Butler was widely expected to be traded at the deadline, he wasn't the Warriors' top choice. Before trading for Butler, Golden State was on the verge of bringing Kevin Durant back to the Bay Area in a multi-team deal that involved the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat. This deal ultimately fell through, resulting in the Dubs striking a trade with the Heat that has saved their immediate future.
Nobody around the league knew that the Dallas Mavericks were looking to trade Doncic. He never hit the trade market for teams around the NBA to pursue, and the Lakers were the only team general manager Nico Harrison expressed interest in negotiating with. Of course, Harrison's past working with Nike, Kobe Bryant, and Rob Pelinka, when he was Bryant's agent, sparked obvious claims of malpractice from basketball fans around the globe.
Why would Harrison and the Mavs only look to negotiate a deal with the Lakers involving one of the top five players in the world when other teams had better overall assets to offer for a player like Doncic? Dallas could have received more for Luka in a trade with another team, but Anthony Davis was the player Harrison wanted.
And thus the most shocking trade in NBA history was made.
After losing two of their first three games with Doncic on the court alongside LeBron James, the Lakers have rattled off eight straight wins. They are now 8-2 when Luka plays after defeating the New York Knicks 113-109 in overtime on Thursday night, a game in which he had 32 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds.
While New York was in Los Angeles on Thursday night, Golden State was on the opposite side of the country in New York, looking to conclude their five-game East Coast road trip with a win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Warriors accomplished this goal with a 121-119 victory not only because of a 40-point effort from Stephen Curry but also due to Butler once again having his fingerprints all over the game.
Butler finished off the Nets by going 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and scoring 25 points, while also dishing out six assists. The Dubs newest star was +17 for the game, making him the most efficient player for Golden State in Thursday night's win over Brooklyn. Overall, the Warriors are now 10-2 over their last 12 games and are 10-1 when Butler plays.
A lot has changed in the Western Conference since Doncic and Butler were traded just about one month ago. The Lakers are in sole possession of the 2-seed, and the Warriors have gone from being out of the play-in region of the standings to occupying the 6-seed in the West.
These two trades the Lakers and Warriors completed have completely altered the trajectory of the 2024-25 season. As a result, NBA personnel continue to share their thoughts on what happened ahead of February's trade deadline, an event that caused two withering contenders to find new life and confidence in themselves both now and moving forward.
While exploring the lava caves of Hawaii and conducting “research” about possible NBA expansion to The Aloha State with a Mai Tai in hand, a flurry of texts and calls made from the beach to NBA personnel resulted in this Siegel's Scoop column on ClutchPoints. As we prepare for the final stretch run of the regular season, the league is still preparing for the aftershocks that these Doncic and Butler trades will cause in the offseason.
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NBA personnel on Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler trades
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after scoring a basket against the New York Knicks during overtime at Crypto.com Arena.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
One of the biggest takeaways and frustrations league personnel have from the trade that the Mavs and Lakers made is that nobody else even had a chance to bid on Doncic. Although there is no rule suggesting that Dallas should have made Doncic available to everyone and traded him to the highest bidder, the way this whole situation was handled in secret is something scouts and agents alike were not fond of.
Not only did this prevent teams from pursuing Luka, but for agents around the league, it created a new way for teams to shut them out of negotiations that they do not want to become a precedent.
“When you see perennial All-Stars like Luka and AD getting traded and nobody knew about it, what's stopping teams from doing the same with any player?” one long-time NBA agent told ClutchPoints. “All of our relationships have always been built on trust and communication. Luka didn't know he was going to be traded. AD didn't know he was going to be traded. It's just not good business for anyone because if that was my guy, I'd never talk to that team again.”
Trades are a major part of every NBA season, and many players are oftentimes blindsided by what happens at the trade deadline. Even so, many teams remain in contact with players and their agents when trades are being worked on. While players and agents may not necessarily agree with certain trades, they are at least informed so they can prepare and chart their plans moving forward.
What transpired with Doncic being traded to Los Angeles was something everyone around the league was kept in the dark on. Only select members of both teams knew about this trade being worked on behind the scenes, and if anything leaked, the deal would be tabled.
That is the main reason why everyone laughed at this trade Shams Charania reported, many assuming he was hacked before confirmation began to spread like wildfire across the NBA landscape.
“Luka is a generational talent and the type of player you don't let go,” an Eastern Conference scout shared. “If you are going to trade a guy like that, it's the equivalent of trading like Kobe [Bryant] or Giannis [Antetokounmpo], and you should be getting as much value as you can. That didn't happen in this trade because the Lakers still have their draft picks, they still have Dalton Knecht, and they didn't really have to lose anything. Davis is great, but who is going to actually say he's better for any team than Luka?
“It's just crazy that Dallas was fine with the idea of sacrificing Doncic for less value than what the Jazz got for Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell a few years ago.”
Of course, there are those around the league who did not take the news of Doncic being traded kindly. Confusion, frustration, and anger are the three best words to describe the feelings multiple league personnel shared with ClutchPoints' Lakers insider Anthony Irwin recently. One league executive even went as far as to say that this Doncic trade “made the Lakers a championship team” when they had no path to contending for a title this year.
How this trade involving Doncic came to be, as well as the Warriors' acquisition of Butler, has created a path for offseason moves to be made.
As the sun began to set in Oahu, Hawaii, on a beautiful 80-degree day with a slight breeze coming off the ocean, I saw something that caught me off guard. It is common to see people wearing Warriors uniforms in every single state, just like it is to see Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and Lakers uniforms.
However, while I was expecting to see a No. 30 Stephen Curry jersey, it was instead a No. 10 jersey. It was “BUTLER III” on the back, allowing the realization of Golden State's newfound hope to set in.
“Jimmy joining the Warriors changes things,” one league executive texted. “All it takes is one move like that to ignite championship belief in a team that has already won multiple times.
“Expect this to create an aggressive mindset for everyone else in the offseason.”
The idea of superstar talents spending their entire careers with the same team has gone from common to rare in the NBA.
Curry, who has spent his entire career with the Warriors, is the last of his kind. One could imagine that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic will do the same for their respective teams, but we just don't know anymore with Luka being traded this season.
Several players, including Doncic and even De'Aaron Fox, wanted to remain with one team for their entire career. However, agendas for teams are constantly changing, and the need to always adapt has created a new way of thinking for front office personnel since the immediate future of the team always tends to outweigh recent accomplishments.
The Doncic trade, along with Butler making the Warriors true title threats once more, has opened up a world of possibilities for teams to go all out on the trade market. As one scout put it, teams are: “Once again going to have to play catch-up to the Lakers and Warriors.”
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Nobody around the NBA can seem to get the Doncic and Butler trades out of their minds. While a lot of this has to do with the mainstream media solely covering these two teams and players in-depth daily, much of it is due to offseason planning already beginning.
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Bulls, Nets, Wizards will explore offseason trade market
Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (behind) hugs guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) during overtime against the Toronto Raptors at the United Center.
Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Cap space across the league will be limited after the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy is awarded to whoever wins the 2025 NBA Finals. The Brooklyn Nets are the only team projected to have an excessive amount of money to spend how they see fit in free agency, as a few other teams will be able to make some minor moves utilizing their mid-level exceptions.
For example, teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets in the Western Conference should be able to add an impactful player or two and remain below the first apron. At the same time, the idea of them pursuing a max-level player and retaining their current roster isn't feasible. Another team in the West with a small amount of financial flexibility is the New Orleans Pelicans.
When you look at the Eastern Conference, one team in obvious need of a roster overhaul is the Chicago Bulls.
After sending Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline, the Bulls don't appear to have a sense of direction. Nikola Vucevic, who was dangled in trade discussions for months, was ultimately kept by Chicago and will enter the final year of his contract. Patrick Williams, along with Lonzo Ball, also came up in trade discussions with several teams in the West.
It is worth noting that Ball got a two-year, $20 million extension with a team option. He is a player the Bulls truly value and would like to keep around heading into the 2025-26 season. Along with Williams expected to hear his name come up in trade rumors once again during the offseason, the Bulls will be forced to make some decisions about their backcourt.
Josh Giddey is a restricted free agent and has been great during the back half of the season. Chicago made it a priority to get Giddey in their Alex Caruso trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last offseason, which is why it's expected that they will sign the young Australian to a new deal this summer. Tre Jones is a free agent who will be searching for a new home, which now shines the spotlight on Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.
League sources said the Bulls received calls ahead of the trade deadline about both White and Dosunmu. White was drawing interest from the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks, among a few other teams. Dosunmu's name came up in some trade conversations Chicago held with the Kings, Warriors, and even the LA Clippers at one point before the deadline.
As the offseason approaches, the Bulls will be forced to make decisions between these two players in their backcourt. Now that Dosunmu is out for the season with a fracture in the back of his left shoulder, his value has decreased significantly compared to White's. Even so, the Bulls will be open for business this offseason.
Two other teams in the East that are expected to explore their options in the offseason trade market are the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. Both organizations have their eyes set on the NBA Draft lottery with the top pick up for grabs, and where they end up picking in June's draft will dictate the moves they make on the trade market.
Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson are the two players who will see their names in a fair share of trade rumors. It is expected that the Nets will retain Cam Thomas as a restricted free agent.
Before the trade deadline, Johnson received interest from virtually half the league. While the Nets stood their ground on a high asking price of first-round picks for Johnson, rival teams anticipate this price decreasing over the summer. The 28-year-old wing has been one of the most sought-after trade targets for playoff-caliber teams.
Whether the Nets would seriously entertain the idea of trading Claxton comes down to their evaluations of Noah Clowney and Day'Ron Sharpe, in addition to where they end up in the draft. Between his rim protection and athleticism in transition, Claxton can bring a lot of value to a team in a win-now position.
The Wizards, on the other hand, will see trade talks revolve around the two veterans they received at the trade deadline: Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton.
Smart is the player that will generate the most buzz for the Wizards since he will be entering the final year of his contract and has always been widely regarded as one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA when healthy. Out of all the players that could become available in trade talks this offseason, Smart is one of the better names to monitor.
The early expectation among league circles is that Smart will be seeking a trade to a team that is open to discussing an extension. Smart, who is set to make $21.5 million next season, will be a key veteran several teams target in the offseason.
Middleton, on the other hand, needs to prove that he can still be productive after his ankle injuries during his time with the Bucks. Teams would hold interest in Middleton on a significantly smaller contract if he exercises his player option and enters free agency. Other than that, there hasn't been much early interest in the former Bucks veteran.
Speaking of Milwaukee, teams are closely monitoring Bobby Portis and the $13.4 million player option he has for the 2025-26 season. Portis generated a level of interest ahead of the trade deadline, with the Warriors being one of the few teams with known interest. Early talk, dating back to before the trade deadline, was that Portis would explore free agency in the summer.
It will be interesting to see how Portis' 25-game suspension impacts a possible move in free agency.
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