NBA trade deadline started in earnest with the trade bombshell that seemed so ludicrous, fans and players alike thought someone was playing a prank: Luka Dončić being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal that also included Anthony Davis going to the Dallas Mavericks.

We may have just lived through the most active trade deadline in NBA history, but it's not as though everyone participated equally. Four teams didn't make a single trade: the Nuggets, Magic, Trail Blazers and Timberwolves,

Simply put, the Mavericks are here because they traded away star Luka Doncic. They may have gotten All-Star Anthony Davis in return but losing Doncic makes them a worse team.

Boston Celtics are depending on their usual cast of stars to bring home a second straight title, and inactivity could be major mistake

The majority of the deadline action was concentrated in the West, where four teams made moves that could have a dramatic effect on their franchises for the rest of this season and seasons to come.

But the big trade for this season — you know the one I’m talking about — was a signal that the Lakers, and the NBA, are preparing and beginning to move on from him. Just not in the way you might think.