Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Says She Wasn’t Certain Of Luka Doncic Trade Until Last Minute

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss revealed she was among the few with advance knowledge of the trade talks involving Luka Doncic, but she wasn’t certain the deal would be finalized until the last moment, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register.

Speaking at a promotional event for her new Netflix show on Thursday, Buss explained that the Lakers’ front office approached the trade cautiously, prioritizing confidentiality to protect team chemistry in case the deal fell through.

“I mean, not until (general manager Rob Pelinka) told me it was done and they had made the trade call,” Buss said. “Because these things fall apart all the time. It was really important to me that we didn’t blow up the team. If it had leaked out and the trade hadn’t happened, that would be really unfair to the progress that the coaching staff had made with the team.

“Because it’s a huge distraction. And the trade deadline is part of the business. It increases the level of stress for everybody. And I’m really proud that it didn’t leak out and that we were able to execute the trade in a way that still was surprising to all the parties involved. But that goes with this business.”

Buss likened the acquisition of Doncic to two significant trades in Lakers history: the 2008 deal with Memphis for Pau Gasol and the 2011 trade with New Orleans for Chris Paul, which was famously vetoed by then-NBA commissioner David Stern.

As the deal neared completion, Lakers officials were concerned about potential complications that might derail the trade.

“There’s always this concern there’s going to be some new ruling that, like, now what’s going to happen?” Buss said. “But what I have complete confidence in Rob is that he knows how to walk a deal through step by step to make sure that everything is complete and buttoned up, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Buss also commended Pelinka and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for their discretion, as discussions about the trade, which first began on January 7, were conducted in near secrecy. The deal ultimately included the Utah Jazz as a third team to take on the salary of Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Reflecting on the significance of acquiring a player of Doncic’s caliber, Buss noted that her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss, would have been proud of the move.

“He’d be very proud. When you get a player of that stature, you have to give up a lot. My dad was such a great poker player, and he said that he always wanted me to remember that poker was a game of patience,” she said. “That you had to wait for the right cards, but once you got the cards, you had to go from zero to 100 and play the cards and not be afraid to play them.

“So, it was difficult because we were not looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would’ve made, and we had to go for it.”