News of the blockbuster NBA trade between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers (and Utah Jazz) broke late Saturday night, but Dallas actually offered Luka Doncic to the LA a few days ago, per Shams Charania of ESPN.
The deal will result in Lakers star Anthony Davis as part of the package heading to the Mavs.
“The Mavericks went out, they knew exactly who they wanted. They wanted Anthony Davis,” Charania said. “That’s a player that if they were ever going to trade Luka Doncic … it was for AD.
“The Mavericks called the Lakers, offered Luka Doncic, and that’s when the Lakers had to huddle internally. They’ve never offered Anthony Davis ever in a trade.”
The offer prompted a meeting between Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and team owner Jeanie Buss. They obviously decided that pairing Doncic with LeBron James would be a better match than Davis would be moving forward, though the Lakers did win the championship inside the NBA Bubble in 2020.
Doncic was reportedly stunned — and Davis and James had no idea the trade was even being discussed. Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James was at dinner with his family when he learned of the major breaking news.
“Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, the players, coaches, a lot of people on both sides of the Mavericks and Lakers had no idea,” Charania said on SportsCenter. “I can assuredly tell you…LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m told Luka Doncic is still stunned about this trade.”
Marc Stein of The Stein Line added that Doncic did not request a trade. By all accounts, neither did Davis.
Doncic is reportedly targeting a February 8 return date from his calf injury. That’s two days after the NBA trade deadline. But for the Lakers and Mavs, the deadline came much sooner.
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