A flurry of trade activity Wednesday in the NBA in advance of Thursday's NBA trade deadline yielded several big deals. The Lakers continued their reshaping of the roster after Saturday's mega-blockbuster addition of Luka Doncic, adding a center to pair with Doncic in Charlotte's Mark Williams.
Here's how the market reacted to the news and what it means for the Lakeshow.
NBA Trade Deadline Market Reactions
Lakers Give Luka Doncic a Rim Runner
Lakers trade Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish + 2031 Unprotected First-Round Pick + 2030 First-Round Swap in exchange for Mark Williams
- The Market is buying the Lakers. Los Angeles jumped from +4000 to win the title to +2000 or shorter on Sunday, and after considerable handle increases like DraftKings reporting 80% of title bets in the 24 hours after the Doncic trade on LA, the Mark Williams move has only improved their chances. The Lakers are currently a consensus +1300 or better in the market to win the NBA title and +700 or better to win the West after being +1300 on Sunday morning.
- You must pair Doncic with a rim-running, screen-setting big in pick-and-roll situations. The Mavericks tried to be too cute for years with stretch-five Maxi Kleber and other failed options and then thrived after adding Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. Williams is 7-2 and an excellent pick-and-roll weapon who can set good screens and finish on lobs. Giving Doncic a finisher with rim gravity forces defenses to respect Doncic's jumper, floater, and lob pass, opening the door for his supporting spot-up shooters when the defense sends help.
- Williams is not Lively defensively, however. Lively is a three-level defender who can switch, drop, hedge and zone, while Williams is primarily a drop big. Giving teams the option of attacking him downhill with either Doncic or Austin Reaves guarding the ball-handler is not going to go well. But the offense should be fantastic.
- They gave up a sneaky good but inconsistent defender in Cam Reddish and Knecht who had real offensive pop but wasn't good enough defensively to keep on the floor.
- We gave out Knech 200-1 for Rookie of the Year on Buckets on Monday, and the odds for him are down all the way to +1300 with more chances likely in Charlotte. However, a big reason I loved that bet on Knecht with the Lakers was the visibility playing for LA affords. Without that, Knecht will have to have massive nights even in a weak ROY field to offset the fact that no one will watch him this season given how bad Charlotte is, unfortunately.
- The Hornets gave up on Nic Richards and Mark Williams, but getting two draft pick assets for Williams along with Knecht is too much value to pass up and it's good work by the Hornets not to be overly attached to Williams who is talented but not a franchise cornerstone.
- Be ready to play Moussa Diabate props. Diabate's on-off splits are outrageous, he'll play a lot this season with Williams and Richards gone.
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