Comparing the stunning Luka Doncic trade to the Nationals trading Juan Soto

Look, I know this is a baseball site, but in case you have not been on social media or tuned into any sort of sports news show today, the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a stunning trade that will send superstar guard Luka Dončić to the Lakers along with a couple other players in exchange for 2020 NBA Champion and 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, in one of the most shocking trades in sports history. When something of this magnitude happens in the sports world, it becomes a topic that will be discussed by every sports outlet for the coming days, so I figured I would jump in on the madness that went down last night.

Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the ground after realizing that this trade was in fact a reality and that NBA Insider Shams Charania had not gotten hacked as many speculated, it got me thinking about some other notable trades in sports, and what could possibly compare to a deal of this magnitude. Of course, that got me reminiscing on the Nationals' trade of Juan Soto back in 2022, and how much I currently empathize with Mavericks' fans right now. In my opinion, there are a lot of similarities between both deals, allow me to explain.

For starters, let's talk about the headliners in both deals. In 2022, Juan Soto was already established as a true superstar with the Nationals, and the team had been in discussions with Soto's camp about potentially agreeing to a $440 million extension, similar to how Dončić was eligible for a 5-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer that would tie him to the Mavericks for the prime of his career.

The difference between both Soto and Dončić is that Soto and his camp turned down the extension, which led many around the sport to speculate about his long-term future in DC, while Dončić was reportedly blindsided by the deal, as he was fully invested in bringing a championship home for the Mavericks. Soto was just 23-years-old at the time of the deal, and Dončić is just 25-years-old at the time of this deal. A pair of young superstars in their athletic primes who were both Top 5-10 players in the sports were both dealt in shocking manner.

Now, let's talk about the return that both the Mavericks and Nationals received in the deal. Soto, who was also traded along with Josh Bell (who has since returned to the Nationals), netted a return of prospects that included current franchise cornerstones in lefty MacKenzie Gore, shortstop CJ Abrams, outfielder James Wood, and current Nats prospects in righty flamethrower Jarlin Susana, and outfielder Robert Hassell III. The Nationals also received Luke Voit in the deal as well, but his inclusion was pretty much irrelevant compared to the rest of the return.

The Mavericks received superstar big man Anthony Davis, young guard Max Christie, and a 1st-round pick in 2029. While Davis will form a very solid 1-2 punch with guard Kyrie Irving and should help the Mavericks compete for a title this year, it is very little consolation to a fanbase that fully believed that their young superstar guard, who had just taken them to the NBA finals last year, would be a member of their team for the rest of his career.

While the Mavericks' reasons for dealing Dončić might have included some concerns over his physical conditioning, with rumors circulating that they were concerned about the way that he takes care of himself and how he spends his offseason, you just can not deal a player of his caliber completely out of the blue. At least in the Nationals' case with Soto, it was obvious that it was going to come down to a numbers game from a contractual standpoint, and many people in the moment said it was absolutely ludicrous for Soto to turn down $440 million, yet as he gets settled up in Queens fresh off signing a $765 million deal with the Mets, it is clear that he will be laughing to the bank for the rest of his career.

The main criticism of the Nationals as it concerned to the Soto deal primarily came from those who argued that you simply do not trade a generational talent like him, no matter what. However, the Nationals chose not to deal another generational talent in Bryce Harper back in 2018, and had to watch him leave for a division rival while getting absolutely nothing in return. That same criticism the Nationals received back at that time should be a lot of the same feedback that the Mavericks receive, and it is definitely fair to wonder why the Mavericks decided not to open a bidding war for Dončić in the same manner that the Nationals did for Soto.

Although it appears that Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison targeted Davis because of how two-way prowess and ability to make the Mavericks better on the defensive end, it's hard to believe the Mavericks could not have gotten a bigger return had they made Dončić's name available to the rest of the league. The Nationals had made Soto available and were actively fielding calls for him, and Mike Rizzo was able to pick and choose the package that he felt would best position the franchise for the long-term, the Mavericks easily could have done the same but chose not to in this instance.

As for the Lakers, who would compare to the Padres in this sense, get a chance to pair one of the brightest and best players in the NBA with LeBron James, and have now set up their franchise to build around Dončić once James inevitably retires in the next couple years. The Padres had a similar idea, mortgaging a ton of their prospect capital and going all-in on a team that included players like Manny Machado, Josh Hader, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and others that they believed would help them bring a title to San Diego.

Unfortunately, that deal is likely one that Padres General Manager AJ Preller would like to have back, given that Soto was dealt to the New York Yankees before the 2024 season, and has now signed with the New York Mets where he will spend the remainder of his career in all likelihood. The Padres swung for the fences and came up short, and set up the Nationals future in a major way, much like the Mavericks could be doing for the Lakers right now.

Overall, the sheer magnitude of the Soto trade, while it was indeed painful for us Nationals fans, does not even pale in comparison to the nature of the Dončić deal, given that it was so completely unexpected and rocked the landscape of the NBA for years to come. At least for us Nats fans, there were whispers in the days leading up to the trade that something was in the works, whereas Mavericks fans found out super abruptly in the middle of the night that the deal had gone through.

I can tell you this, as a native Virginian who has since relocated to Dallas, the DFW area is absolutely shocked by this deal, and it is completely fair to say that Dončić was the biggest celebrity the city had seen since Dirk Nowitzki. As Nationals fans, I know we can empathize with Mavericks fans in the utter frustration that many of us felt after dealing Soto, but at least we can look back on the deal now and realize that it was undoubtedly the best possible deal for the future of the organization. Unfortunately for Mavericks fans, I do not know if they will be able to same about the deal in a couple years from now, but only time will tell.

How do you think the Luka Dončić deal compares to the Juan Soto trade? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

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