Late Saturday night, the sports world was rocked by the Dallas Mavericks trading superstar Luca Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, that's right, the sports world was shocked. The trade came out of nowhere and shocked everyone.
You can explain the trade in many terms over various sports, but the NHL version of the deal could be compared to a trade that the Boston Bruins made with one of their rising superstars, Joe Thornton.
Luka Doncic trade equivalent to Bruins trading Joe Thornton
Dallas is just seven months removed from an appearance in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, losing in five games last spring. It was a surprising ride for the Mavericks to the Finals and with him being just 25 years old, the future was bring for Mavs fans in terms of more long postseason runs coming together. Not anymore.
Doncic was traded to Los Angeles along with Maxi Kleber and Markief Morris for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round draft pick. The Utah Jazz were part of the deal and they received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round draft picks. It seems like an underwhelming return for Dallas.
In NHL terms, this is equal the Boston sending their 1998 No. 1 overall pick Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and Marco Sturm. Out of nowhere on Nov. 30, 2005, the trade came about when then-GM Mike O'Connell made the deal that stunned the hockey world.
At the time, Thornton was in the prime of his career, and in 23 games in the 2005-06 season with the Black and Gold, Jumbo Joe had nine goals and 24 assists and then for the Sharks, he had 20 goals and 72 assists after the deal that year. He went on to win the Hart and Ross Trophy.
Thornton went on to have a tremendous San Jose career where he played in 1,104 games and recorded 1,055 points with 251 goals and 804 assists. Yes, the trade opened the door for a promising young center named Patrice Bergeron to slide up the center depth chart and assume a top-six spot and the rest was history you could say. David Krejci got an expanded role in the lineup and the following summer, the Bruins signed defenseman Zdeno Chara to a free agent contract.
However, the Bruins didn't win the trade at the time, but it opened the door for other moves and led to a Stanley Cup Championship six years later. At the time, it was unthinkable that O'Connell would move a superstar in the prime of his career and Dallas fans are saying the same thing today after losing Doncic. Who doesn't love sports?