During an interview with NBA reporter Kevin Gray Jr. of DLLS Sports, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul spoke about the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Davis and Lakers superstar LeBron James are represented by Paul.
LeBron and Paul are very close friends.
“It’s been a pretty busy trade deadline for me,” Paul said. “Had a lot of guys get moved, a lot of it strategically. This one was a shock. And again, the timing of it was a shock, who was involved was a shock, (but) the destination was not a shock, just based upon the relationship. AD has been someone that Nico (Harrison) has coveted since he got the job, so that’s not a shock to me. But where does it rank? It’s right up there, man. I think it was the first trade among All-NBA players. Normally you’re trading All-NBA guys and getting back (young) guys, or getting back a lot of picks and things like that. Very seldom do you see two mountains being moved like that, and obviously AD is 31 and Luka’s 25 so you can understand why on one end, and why people think not on the other. But ultimately, I imagine in the perfect world they would love to have them two play together, if everyone had it the way they wanted, but it doesn’t work like that. It’s OK, it’s a business, and I always tell my guys it’s a business.”
LeBron, Davis and Doncic were stunned by the trade.
The Mavericks-Lakers deal involving Doncic-Davis is being called the most shocking trade in NBA history.
Doncic appeared in 422 games with the Mavericks. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists and made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams.
Meanwhile, in 312 games with the Lakers, Davis averaged 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.2 blocks. He and LeBron helped the franchise win the 2020 championship.
Doncic will make his Lakers debut on Monday versus the Utah Jazz, while Davis will make his Mavericks debut on Saturday against the Houston Rockets.
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