The Whiteboard: The Luka Doncic-Trae Young trade defines this draft
By Ti Windisch
There is a lot to break down from the 2018 NBA Draft, but the Luka Doncic for Trae Young trade will end up defining it.
The 2018 NBA Draft is over and done with, but the fallout from what happened on Thursday night will take years to clear. A few draft day trades went down, as always, but this year one of them feels much more important than the rest.
The Atlanta Hawks swapped the third overall pick, which ended up being Luka Doncic, for the Dallas Mavericks’ fifth pick, used on Trae Young, and a 2019 Dallas first. There were rumors before the draft of Dallas being interested in moving up, but it still felt shocking when it happened.
Doncic and Young aren’t just top prospects, they’re two of the most controversial and polarizing players in the entire draft. Some draft writers stanned for Doncic or Young, and some dismissed them each as overrated. Clearly, the Hawks and Mavericks had those sorts of opinions as well, on one side and the other.
Even if Deandre Ayton ends up being the rightful first overall pick and is better than both Doncic and Young, this trade is going to be the biggest event remembered from the 2018 NBA Draft. The only way it could fade from memory is if both players are bad pros, which seems unlikely.
If one or both of them is good, or great, it will be a topic of conversation. It just has to be. Atlanta boldly passed a chance on having Doncic, therefore implicitly stating he doesn’t have true superstar potential. If the Hawks thought he did, he’d be on his way to Atlanta right now.
On the other hand, the Mavericks were such believers in Luka they were willing to give up their pick next year to move up just two spots and snag him. If Luka stinks, Dallas won’t soon be able to forget it. Especially if Trae Young becomes an offensive superstar.
It’s easy to side with one team or the other now, but the recent Markelle Fultz/Jayson Tatum trade is a good example of why it’s smart to wait to weigh in. Whichever way this deal shakes out, it’s probably going to be the most memorable moment of the 2018 NBA Draft.
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