Dallas Mavericks superstar Anthony Davis counters the popular narrative surrounding blockbuster trade to his new team.
‘I Just Don’t Believe It’: Dallas Mavericks Superstar Dishes On Trade
Anthony Davis Speaks Out
Three and a half weeks ago, a seismic event rocked the basketball world. A team that made the NBA Finals only a few months ago, the Dallas Mavericks, traded away their 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic (turns 26 on Friday) to the Los Angeles Lakers. The media narrative so heavily focused on Doncic, that it somehow overshadowed the other massive piece in the deal: Anthony Davis.
Davis may not be the caliber of player that Doncic is, but he’s no slouch. “The Brow” touts a slew of accomplishments, including being named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, 10 All-Star appearances, five All-NBA honors, five All-Defensive appearances, and of course, his 2020 championship with the Lakers.
According to Broderick Turner, the writer for The Los Angeles Times who conducted a recent interview with Davis, the new Mavericks centerpiece took everything in stride. Turner wrote, “[Davis] processed it almost immediately and understood it was ‘the nature of the business’.”
A Move Shrouded In Mystery
Besides the major names of the players involved, the trade blew up in large part due to its shocking nature, even amongst those at the top of the food chain. No executive around the league outside of Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka knew the trade was occurring, and even Danny Ainge—GM of the Utah Jazz and tertiary party in the Doncic/Davis exchange—had no idea he was helping facilitate the mega-deal.
Allegedly, even previous majority owner Mark Cuban and Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd remained in the dark until the 11th hour. Davis was recovering at home from a previous injury when Pelinka called to deliver the news. “When it happened, I honestly didn’t know s—.”, Davis told Turner. Like most everyone else, Davis was blindsided, so his first reaction was to call his friend and former teammate LeBron James.
Davis explained further, “I don’t know what’s true or what’s not, coming from upstairs. So, my thing is I’m gonna go to my counterpart who I’ve been running with and see what’s going on, get his reaction…” While Davis didn’t divulge any details about the conversation, he did come away with a certain impression.
““Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other s—. I just don’t believe it.”
Trying To Make Sense Of The Senseless
Davis isn’t alone in his skepticism. Others, such as popular sports media personality Bill Simmons, went even further and suggested the Mavs organization may have ulterior motives. In part jest, Simmons opined that the new owners may have traded Doncic as a way of kicking off a move from Dallas to Las Vegas. “the [NBA] owners have always wanted the Vegas team…And the first way to do this would be basically to torpedo the Mavericks franchise’s relationship with their fans by trading Luka Dončić.”
It makes sense on the surface as the Adelson’s claim to fame is their casino empire, but seems far-fetched upon closer examination. The market share in Vegas is substantially lower than in Dallas. Plus, it’s been heavily rumored that the NBA is planning for expansion within the next couple of years, and Las Vegas sits at the top of the list. Why buy the Mavericks when you could just wait for the Vegas expansion?
Regardless of who knew what and when, the Anthony Davis/Luka Doncic trade has already gone down as one of the most explosive, if not the most explosive, in NBA history and will be the subject of much scrutiny for years to come.
Photo credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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