NBA Insider Reveals How Early Lakers Started Anthony Davis Trade Conversations

Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) knocks the ball away from Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Few, if any, trades have come as more of a surprise than the early February deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, in which the Lakers sent star center Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and a first-round pick in exchange for Luka Doncic, then just 25 with an enormously high ceiling.

The NBA world was rocked, with the widely held belief emerging that this was one of the most lopsided trades in the history of professional sports.

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While there is certainly time before a final judgment can be made, it seems that the masses were correct in their initial assessment, as Doncic has started the 2025-26 season on an MVP-worthy campaign while the Mavericks have a 3-9 record and an empty office where general manager Nico Harrison used to sit.

The Lakers began making trade calls to teams in December 2024 for Anthony Davis, per @BrettSiegelNBA

The Celtics, Bucks, and Cavaliers all showed interest

(https://t.co/uRT5zxst8H) pic.twitter.com/8jjYuo0jTK

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) November 14, 2025

It wasn't easy for the Lakers to part ways with Davis, who helped lead the team to an NBA title in his first year in Los Angeles, but injury concerns have persisted throughout the center's career.

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A recent report from Clutch Points' Brett Siegel revealed that the Lakers were pursuing a trade involving Davis even before Harrison and the Mavericks came calling.

According to Clutch Points, there was friction between Davis' camp and the Lakers as to how the 10-time All-Star was taking care of his body, and with how the Lakers wanted him to handle injury recovery and prevention.

“There were moments in the preseason where we wondered if he had even worked out at all in the summer,” an one anonymous team source told Clutch Points. “He would come back, go through warmups, and then either sit out to be with the training staff or basically half-a— what the team was doing."

Because of a lack of belief in Davis' ability to take over the team after LeBron James' eventual retirement, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka quietly put Davis on the trading block to a select few teams in December 2024, according to multiple sources.

Siegel reported that the Lakers' intentions were less to pursue an in-season trade, but instead to gauge Davis' value for a possible trade in the offseason.

According to one source, some teams didn't take the Lakers' offer as a serious one. Clearly, however, the Mavericks did.

“Little did we know, they did the same thing with Nico and the Mavs, and obviously nobody was going to beat a Luka deal," the source said.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.