Luka! Luka, Luka, LUKA!!! In case, you can’t tell, I’m one of those annoying Lakers fans who kind of expects things like this to happen every once in a while. Just in my lifetime: Shaq in free agency, trading for Kobe, the Pau heist, LeBron deciding he wants to live in LA, Klutch orchestrating the AD trade, and now Luka falling in our laps. It’s great to be Purple and Gold 😎

- Cameron

Luka/AD Trade Hobby Fallout

So, now that’s it’s been a few days since our collective minds were blown by the most shocking trade in NBA history, let’s talk about what this means for those little pieces of cardboard we love so much.

First, there’s ZERO justification for trading a top-3 player, pre-prime, who could absolutely lead your team to a championship. At any given time, there are only a handful of players good enough to win a championship. He’s one of them.

And the Mavs gave him up for a player who isn’t one of those guys. It’s a hilariously bad move that I love because I’m a diehard Lakers fan. We’ve stumbled into an extra decade of relevance with a true superstar who’ll probably find a way to win a championship or two.

The Mavs should’ve gotten Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and more draft picks/swaps…and it STILL would’ve been a win for the Lakers. Just insane.

🏀 Luka Doncic

Well, here’s the Laker effect on the hobby, as seen through Luka’s Player Index:

I get it. One of the first things I thought was “I need to get a Luka card.” Just…not right now. He’ll probably have the #1 selling jersey in the league soon as the clear best player on the league’s most popular team.

If you have him, it’s a great time to sell. Of course, you can also hold as he might end up being the next great player in Lakers’ history.

If he makes another run in the playoffs (like last year), he’ll see increased gains because he’s doing it on the Lakers.

🏀 Anthony Davis

There isn’t much movement on his pricing, but expect it to go down over time. Going to a less popular team isn’t going to be great for him.

I’ve heard some say they think he’ll kick it into another gear and kick butt…but he was kind of already doing that for the Lakers. Not sure there’s another gear there for him.

🏀 Austin Reaves

This can’t be good for him. As a player that’s redundant of LeBron and Luka, but miles worse than either of them, his on-ball opportunities should drop quite a bit. The Lakers may lean more toward versatile defenders on their roster.

🏀 Max Christie

A promising young player now headed to the Mavs. Watch the Lakers effect, but in reverse. Think Kyle Kuzma when he went to the Wizards (he’s slightly more relevant on the Bucks now, but…meh).

🏀 Future Unnamed Lakers Center

With a massive hole at center and the Lakers motivated to find a guy (through trade or buyout), whoever takes that spot gets to catch lobs from Luka and LeBron. That’s…incredible. (Apologies if the Lakers have already filled this spot since I sent this newsletter!)

Buy / Sell Opportunities

✔ Joe Burrow 🏈 - He’s been on a steady decline all year since his team started poorly. Remember, he’s already led his team to a Super Bowl appearance and is considered by most a top-5 QB. I’m betting he’s back in a big way next year.

✔ Ronald Acuna Jr. ⚾ - As a clear top, top player in the game on one of the very best teams, he’s primed for a big bounce-back year. If he (and his team) have better injury luck, they’re on the shortlist of World Series contenders. Here’s his pricing over the past year for his PSA 10 2018 Topps (Bat Down), with a nearly 40% drop:

✔ Julio Rodriguez ⚾ - With 11.5 WAR in his first two seasons, he was the young player. This past season, when seemingly everyone forgot about him, he still had 4.3 WAR. This kid is still a stud at barely 24 years old. With a bit more power, he could be right back at the forefront of the hobby’s minds. Here’s his 2019 Bowman Mega Box Chrome PSA 10 over the past year:

✔ Tyrese Maxey 🏀 Don’t look now, but the 76ers have a good shot at the play-in. They’re playing a bit better and they’re behind teams that are going to fall down the standings (Hawks lost Jalen Johnson and the Bulls are trading away pieces). Maxey is at almost 28 points/game and is a blast to watch.

✔ De’Aaron Fox 🏀 Now on a much higher profile team playing next to Wemby, he may finally get his due. He’s a legitimate offensive star and playing off the Wemby Supernova will probably give him the easiest looks he’s ever had. This team is going to be a serious contender next season. (I’d actually wait until the Spurs are clearly not making the play-in to buy Fox, or until the offseason. This team is now officially moving to Win Now mode).

❌ Anyone in the Super Bowl 🏈 I’ve gone deep into the data before and showed that most players get their pricing bumps before the Big Game. If they win, pricing stays around the same. If they lose, there’s a drop. This happens because everyone has the same though: “Oh, I should hold Hurts to see if he wins!” But then everyone offloads Hurts after the win and pricing doesn’t go up. The best play is usually to offload players before the game.

❌ Karl-Anthony Towns 🏀 I know, he’s on a redemption tour, so I’m not supposed to down him… but I just can’t believe he’s going to be a totally different player come playoff time. With the big lights and high pressure, I bet we see the guy who gets into dumb foul trouble, has 12-point games, and doesn’t protect the rim. Expect disappointment in the next few months.

New Releases

+ 2025 Topps Series 1 Baseball (February 12 | $100) - It’s here! The first of baseball’s big releases, and one of the more fun rips out there. With 240 cards per box, it’s a dream open for kids. The photography always looks good with the card’s clean design, but the “1 auto OR relic” is a bit disappointing. Either way, you know you’re getting a ton of rookies and inserts.

*Release dates can (and often do) change as products get delayed 🙄. It’s possible some notable sets are being released this week that I covered in previous editions.