I think both teams lost. The Lakers got destroyed down low and the Mavs lost their soul
Luka is younger, but maybe even more injury prone than AD. Neither franchise is going anywhere
Not with OKC, Houston and Minni in the West and Denver lurking
The Lakers have a clear direction and a generational superstar to build around for years to come, and they barely gave up any assets and an aging, injury-prone player to get him. He's 26 years old.
They can fill out a roster around him that plays to his strengths, similar to how the Mavs did. That was never going to be accomplished this season. The Lakers needed to add a center with or without AD (AD is not a center). Los Angeles is a free agent destination as well, much more so than Dallas.
AD has a worse injury history and is significantly older than Luka, and just a worse player overall. Mavs could have gotten
a lot more if they shopped Luka around. Now they have a sub-par roster with two aging, injury-prone stars. Kyrie won't be back until 2026 and likely won't ever be the same.
This was clearly a trade won by the Lakers. They basically lucked into one of the best players in the league because of organizational incompetence by the Mavs.