Anthony Davis was viewed as the future superstar to guide the Los Angeles Lakers franchise following LeBron James’ retirement, but the team executed a major trade that sent the big player to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic.
La disponibilité de Doncic n’a jamais été annoncée au reste de la ligue, et le directeur général des Mavericks, Nico Harrison, était plutôt déterminé à obtenir Davis dans un échange pour Doncic. Harrison clarified that the decision aimed to strengthen Dallas’s defense, and he later reaffirmed that he had no regrets, even though the fan base reacted overwhelmingly negatively.
Although Doncic guided the Lakers to the third seed and the playoffs, Davis endured an abdominal injury that kept him out for several weeks. Even though Davis made a comeback, Dallas was defeated in the Play-In Tournament and entered the offseason with more uncertainties than certainties.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss admired Davis during his tenure in Los Angeles and shared on SiriusXM NBA Radio her eagerness to converse with him this offseason, as they haven’t had the opportunity to do so since the trade:
“I haven’t seen him face-to-face and I look forward to in the offseason. But you have to remember, he’s now under contract to another team. We’ve had too many instances of people accusing us of tampering, so I have to be really careful with stuff like that.”
Similar to her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, Jeanie possesses a talent for engaging with players, and she ensured to build a strong relationship with Davis. Jeanie takes pride in herself and the organization for working together with their stars and ensured they paid attention to Davis whenever he spoke.
Had Dallas not been willing to trade Doncic, Davis would remain with the purple and gold since there were no signs he wanted to depart from Los Angeles. Davis embraced the opportunity to represent the Lakers, and the team intentionally focused on showcasing him during games as LeBron James assumed a more secondary position on the court.
Davis appeared to hold no resentment towards the Lakers post-trade, allowing Jeanie to articulate his significance to the organization and elaborate on the reasons behind their decision to execute the trade.
LeBron James makes a joke regarding the trade of Anthony Davis.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis created one of the greatest duos in NBA history, and the pair stayed connected after the trade. Following their elimination by the Minnesota Timberwolves, James made a joke regarding the Davis trade when questioned about the Lakers lacking a center.