Is Trading Luka Doncic Like Selling Nvidia Too Early?
The economics of basketball are changing in some fundamental ways.
Switching uniforms.
Photographer: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images North AmericaWhen I first saw the news, I thought it was an internet troll. The Dallas Mavericks had traded superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for superstar Anthony Davis. The Mavericks, who went to the National Basketball Association finals just last year, have been building their team around Doncic, who is one of the league’s very best players and is only 25 years old. Davis is also one of the NBA’s top players, but is 32 and has had injury problems.
The deal, which was finalized Sunday and involves several other players, came as a shock — not only to the sports reporters, but also to Doncic, his new teammates and his former coach. But can it still be considered rational in the financial market sense? Or is Dallas the equivalent of an impatient Nvidia investor, who sold early and got some value but would have done better to hold on for further gains?