Report: Anthony Davis’ Comments About Wanting Center Caused ‘Serious Frustration’ Within Lakers Front Office

According to NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic, Anthony Davis‘ public comments about wanting a center caused “serious frustration” within the Los Angeles Lakers front office. 

The Lakers shocked the NBA world on Saturday, trading Davis and Max Christie to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber. 

“Team sources say the public complaints caused serious frustration all the way to the top of the Lakers franchise,” Amick wrote. “What’s more, there was little confidence that the sort of moves LeBron James and Davis wanted were possible on the open market.”

Davis helped the Lakers win the 2020 championship at the Walt Disney World bubble in his first season with the team. 

“Let’s go back to that key word for a moment: alpha. While Davis had no shortage of fans within the Lakers’ walls, there was also a strong sense that he wasn’t ‘1-A’ material,” Amick wrote. “League sources say there were concerns about his durability and availability and a belief that he could never truly be counted on as a top option in the future. And while his approval rating was high, it had not been forgotten how — in those days before the decision was made to fire then-coach Darvin Ham in early May 2024 — the known threat of a possible Davis trade request loomed so large when it came to their internal calculus. The pressure on that front had been rising for quite some time.”

Davis appeared in 312 games with the Lakers. He averaged 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.2 blocks and made four All-Star teams. 

The Lakers now have a “Big 3” of Doncic, LeBron and Austin Reaves, while the Mavericks have a “Big 3” of Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. 

“The Mavericks were greatly concerned with Dončić’s durability — or lack thereof — and convinced his approach to the game would continue to be a problem in the years to come,” Amick wrote. “Yet while there was no shortage of teams shocked that the Mavericks didn’t broadcast their willingness to move Dončić, league sources say there was at least one team besides the Lakers that was approached by Dallas nearly two weeks ago about the prospect of swapping Dončić for another star.”