Rational discussion: If the Lakers did not trade Doncic with Davis, can they go further?

In the middle of the season, the Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz completed a three-party deal. The Lakers sent Davis, Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick, Doncic, Kleber and Morris; the Mavericks got Davis and Christie, and the Jazz won Sifino and the second-round draft pick.

The deal caused a huge response at that time and was hailed as "the most explosive deal in the 21st century." Many fans and media people believe that this is a win-win deal, the Mavericks win in the present, while the Lakers seize the future.

And now it seems that this deal is definitely a lose-lose deal.

If you want to win the Mavericks at the moment, you will frequently suffer injuries after the transaction. At the worst, you can't even get a set of starters. Davis only played a few games before recovering until he was in a state of injury, and he didn't return until the end of the season; Irving even suffered a major injury that was enough to destroy his career. In the end, they entered the playoffs with 10th in the West and were eliminated by the Grizzlies.

And what about the Lakers? The next generation of super giant Doncic doesn't seem to be so perfect - "the defense is over with one step" and "if you can't hit it, you can spread your hands." The high exposure in Los Angeles has left Doncic invisible, and more and more Lakers fans have begun to attack the Lakers management "We want David Back" on social media.

Although they entered the playoffs in the third place in the Western Conference, they were sent home cleanly and neatly by the Timberwolves in the first round with a big score of 4:1.

So, if this deal had not happened at that time, could the Lakers go further?

Objectively speaking, we must admit that without Doncic, the Lakers would never enter the playoffs with third place in the West.

Let's recall the Lakers' status before and after the Doncic trade?

Before the trade, the Lakers were struggling, and the team was still in the quagmire of the playoffs, striving for a place to go directly to the playoffs; and after Doncic came to the Lakers, the team united and rushed to the forefront of the Western Conference with a series of consecutive victories, finally ranked third and entered the playoffs.

Of course, after the trading, the team will inevitably have a strong period. At that time, all the players are in a high momentum and it is easy to achieve long-term wins, resulting in false prosperity. But no matter what, Doncic's arrival was to give the Lakers a shot of a heart-warming agent, and he did lead the Lakers to achieve better results, which Davis could not do.

But in the playoffs, the style suddenly changed. The Lakers, who were considered to be the best ball, were beaten up by the Timberwolves. There must be coaching reasons here, but more of it is the inevitable result of the lineup structure.

Hayes started to show off after playing 8 minutes in the playoffs. The Lakers were forced to use five small players in large quantities. As a result, they were taken one step from the outside, no one protected the basket in the inside, and both ends of the offense and defense began to collapse. I believe that Lakers fans must be missing Davis at this time.

If the Lakers did not have this deal, they could put on the starting lineup of James + Davis + Hachimura + Christie + Rivers, and the offense and defense will be more balanced.

In the first round, they will be able to play more calmly; in the second round, they face the Warriors who lack Curry, they will even pinch them with hands; it is very likely that the Lakers are fighting against the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, not the Timberwolves.

In short, if the Lakers do not trade in the middle of the season, it is likely to enter the Western Conference Finals, and it is not impossible to win the championship.

However, there is no if in this world. Without this deal, can the Lakers playoffs as the third in the West? Without this deal, will the Warriors trade Butler? This transaction is like a butterfly effect, which affects the whole body and causes too many subsequent events.

More importantly, for the Lakers management, they value the future more in this deal. They exchange Davis for the right to use the first person in the league in the next ten years. I think it would be difficult for anyone to refuse such a deal!