Luka-AD blockbuster a reminder of what might have been for Celtics

Luka-AD blockbuster a reminder of what might have been for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

While we all try to wrap our heads around the most out-of-left field trade in NBA history — the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster swap that sent out Anthony Davis — this is what we can’t stop rolling around in our Celtics-centric mind:

Six years ago, Danny Ainge seemed hell-bent on pairing Kyrie Irving and Davis together in Boston. Ainge, now at the helm of the Jazz, finally made that combo a reality, as Utah was the third team that facilitated Saturday’s jaw-dropping deal

And that got us thinking about how different things could have been in Boston.

For as much as Ainge loved big trades, even he often admitted the best swaps were sometimes the ones he didn’t make. The high value Ainge placed on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, even when they were just future draft picks, might have prevented overspends that could have altered the course of a franchise that eventually secured the elusive Banner 18 last season.

There’s always the chance that acquiring Davis could have infused some missing happiness into Irving’s life and that the Celtics, with Brad Stevens still at head coach, might have finished that title quest even sooner than the 2023-24 season.

But it’s hard to even imagine not getting this Jays Era. Not watching Brown and Tatum climb the ladder to NBA superstars. Not seeing them overcome several setbacks, like the 2022 Finals loss, before ascending to NBA champs.

With Davis and Irving paired now together in Dallas, maybe we’ll get a glimpse at what life could have been like in Boston if that combo had been put together here. They’re both north of 30 now, however, and the window won’t be open nearly as long as it could have been in Boston.

Regardless, it’s also a reminder that things worked out just fine here.

When the AD quest fizzled and Irving stomped off to join Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, the Celtics leaned harder into a Jays-led future and have been rewarded handsomely. Stevens eventually took the front-office reins from Ainge and shaped the roster around Tatum and Brown, and Boston is now on the hunt for Banner 19.

In a sense, it might have been the way the Celtics exposed the defensive weaknesses of the Mavericks on the title stage last season that forced Dallas to come to grips with a potentially Luka-less future. There’s certainly more to this story — you don’t quietly trade for injury-prone Davis if you’re simply worried about Doncic’s long-term conditioning.

The Celtics are insanely fortunate to have two young stars who embrace both ends of the court and utilize much of their downtime in a quest to be the best version of themselves on the court.

Before the season, Tatum predicted the Celtics and Mavericks would meet in a rematch of the 2025 Finals. Despite trading out a superstar scorer, it’s fair to wonder if the Mavericks now have a better overall balance that should keep them in the mix in the West. We’ll see if there are any more shoes to drop with the Lakers after the Doncic acquisition.

We’ll likely have to wait until next season for the first up-close glimpse of Doncic in Lakers purple and gold. The new-look Mavericks visit TD Garden this Thursday. Davis and Irving will finally share the floor in Boston, just like we all wondered might happen.

But things might have worked out even better for the Celtics without that combo.