What a Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis NBA trade equivalent would be in the NFL world

Can you imagine a scenario, in the NFL, where an elite 25-year-old player is moved for no obvious reason?

The most similar scenario that truly happened most recently is when cornerback Jalen Ramsey was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams. At the time, in 2019, he was exactly 25. But he was demanding a new contract with a new team, and that motivated the Jaguars to deal him for two first-round and a fourth-round picks.

Player for player trades in the NFL are rarer, in general, because teams value draft picks more. In the NBA, the salary-matching rules and the nature of the game make it much more frequent. Yet, what the Lakers and Mavs did is somewhat unprecedented.

Let's try to simulate some NFL equivalents for you to understand how crazy that deal was.

Lamar Jackson for Myles Garrett and a first-round pick, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns

Lamar is 28, but players get to the NFL later, so it's fairly equivalent to Doncic being 25 in the NBA. It's difficult to emulate the value of a quarterback in any other sport, but Doncic is a transformative player like Lamar is. While Doncic has never been an MVP, he has been an All-NBA First-Team five times.

On the other hand, Garrett is a legendary defender, just like Anthony Davis. He's 29, so there's not much age difference here. However, quarterbacks tend to be more durable than edge defenders in the NFL, so you can make an obvious case that Lamar's career will go longer.

And the final point about this comparison is the rivalry. The Lakers and Mavs are not from the same division, but divisions don't matter as much in the NBA. And being in the Western Conference, their rivalry is real. So yes, a deal between the Ravens and Browns would be slightly more extreme because of the Browns' relocation history, but it's not an absurd jump.

Kyler Murray for Nick Bosa, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers

This one has a similar premise. The difference here is that Kyler is probably not a transformative player like Lamar is, but he's been a Pro Bowler twice and was the offensive rookie of the year in 2019. Meanwhile, Nick Bosa is the same age, 27, but has handled injuries just like Anthony Davis.

Because of their levels in the league, a draft compensation wouldn't be necessary, most likely, even though quarterback is such a valuable asset. That would also free up the 49ers to trade Brock Purdy away, avoiding a huge extension that is coming.

At this point, you might be thinking: "There is no way in heaven or hell anything like it happens," and I would certainly agree. Which is exactly the point. If you talked to anybody in the NBA world last week, nobody would believe it. But in the NBA, unlike the NFL, any move is truly possible.

It's a crazy reality, making the game so much funnier. At the same time, NFL fans can be relieved. Your star player won't get traded out of nowhere to your rival.