Doncic, Davis Speak Out After Blockbuster Trade That Stunned the NBA

Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of the game at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 26, 2023. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

The National Football League has the Herschel Walker trade, and Major League Baseball has the Babe Ruth trade, and now the National Basketball Association has joined the conversation regarding the most infamous trades in sports history. Around midnight on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks shipped 25-year-old Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for top-75 player of all-time, Anthony Davis, in what’s arguably the biggest trade in NBA history.

There has been national feedback regarding the transaction from the media, fellow NBA players, and even athletes from other sports, but on Tuesday we finally heard from the two principal actors in the deal in Doncic and Davis.

The Lakers held an introductory press conference for their newest superstar, and Doncic shared his reaction to the news that the organization that drafted him at 19 years old just traded him halfway across the country.

“You can imagine how surprised I was. I was almost asleep. So, when I got the call, I had to check if it was April 1,” admitted Doncic in an X video post by The Associated Press. “I didn’t really believe it at first. It was a big shock. It was a hard moment for me. [Dallas] was home, so it was really hard moments for me, especially first day. [But now] I get to play in the greatest club in the world, and I’m excited for this new journey.”

The Lakers have a road game at the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, meaning there’s no travel involved, and they were able to hold the press conference at their team facility. As for the Mavericks, they are on the road on Tuesday and will play at the Philadelphia 76ers. Thus, Davis didn’t get an introductory press conference, complete with the local media, for his initial comments regarding the deal. However, he did speak at the team’s morning shootaround. Coincidentally and appropriately, Davis used the same word when describing his reaction to getting traded.

“I was shocked,” Davis said in a video posted on X by Mike Curtis, the Mavs beat writer for The Dallas Morning News. “I was at home, about to watch a movie with my wife, and got the phone call,” said Davis, who received word that he was being traded from a joint phone call with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick.

“I had no idea. I had just sent the team a text about congratulations on the [Saturday night] win against the Knicks, big win, and then looking forward to Tuesday’s game against the Clippers, as far as standings purposes. And then, found out like an hour later I was no longer with the team. So, I was in shock, obviously, and had no idea that it was happening.”

When Davis, a clear movie buff, was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Lakers back in 2019, he also revealed he was watching a movie when he was notified.

The big takeaway is that, like everyone who was not involved in the trade, including fans, other players and the media, those who were involved in the trade were equally as shocked. This was a historic NBA trade never seen before in league circles, considering the accolades of the players. Both Doncic and Davis made All-NBA First-Team last year, making this the first time in league history that reigning All-NBA First-Team players were traded for another midseason.

Both players are losing money in the trade, though Doncic stands to lose far more. Davis had a 15 percent trade kicker in his contract, worth about $6 million, but he waived that and won’t receive it in order to accommodate Dallas to add other pieces.

Meanwhile, Doncic was in line to receive a supermax contract extension that could have paid him a projected $345 million in what would have been the largest contract in NBA history. However, now that he’s no longer with his original team, he’s no longer eligible for that type of extension, with the largest contract L.A. can offer is a four-year deal worth roughly $229 million. That’s a massive $116 million that Doncic will lose out on, and that doesn’t even take into account that he’s going from Texas—which doesn’t have state taxes—to California, which does.

Another similarity between Doncic and Davis is that they are both currently sidelined with injuries, so neither of their new teams will get to see them in action right away. But those injuries are, perhaps, part of the reason why their teams were willing to deal them.

Davis has spent his entire career banged up, missing 232 of a possible 1,1010 games (23 percent). Doncic hasn’t been sidelined to that extent, but questions about his conditioning have been widely publicized, and poor conditioning often leads to soft tissue ailments, like the calf strain that is currently affecting him.

The two teams will cross paths twice more this season, giving the players a pair of opportunities to exact revenge on their former employers. The Lakers will host the Mavericks on Feb. 25, and then the Mavericks will host the Lakers on April 9.