Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić are close friends off the court, so the Denver Nuggets superstar had to send his buddy a message after Sunday's stunning

While All-NBA star Luka Doncic was shocked by the trade, then realized "This is the Lakers. It's one of the best clubs in history. So I’m excited to be here.”

The Trail Blazers would likely want to make room to have more minutes for Donovan Clingan, who they recently selected early in the 2024 NBA Draft. For the Lakers, meanwhile, Ayton could have at least some tangible valuable as a player who has postseason experience and tremendous size on the inside.