Lakers' Jeanie Buss makes admission about Mavericks' Anthony Davis

Jeanie Buss wants a conversation with her former superstar.

Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Although Anthony Davis made it clear that he wanted to play more power forward, he never thought it would lead to a trade away from the Los Angeles Lakers. So when Rob Pelinka was working behind the scenes with the Dallas Mavericks on the shocking deal for Luka Doncic and Davis was included, it probably left him surprised.

Any time a player is traded against their will or unknowingly, it likely messes with their emotions a little bit. Luka Doncic was very emotional in his return to Dallas and probably harbors some disdain for how the Mavericks have talked about him since his departure, but the Lakers want to make sure it's not the same with AD.

READ MORE: NBA icon wants Lakers to follow Mavericks' blueprint for Luka Doncic

Feb 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers Jeanie Buss attends the game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner and president of the Lakers, interviewed on SiriusXM and revealed that although she hasn't had a chance to talk to Anthony Davis yet, she plans to.

"I haven’t seen him face-to-face and I look forward to in the offseason," Buss said. "But you have to remember, he’s now under contract to another team. We’ve had too many instances of people accusing us of tampering, so I have to be really careful with stuff like that."

"I haven't seen him face to face. I look forward to in the off-season"@JeanieBuss talks with @WorldWideWob and @adaniels33 about how tampering rules prevented her from giving AD a proper good-bye

Hear our three-hour discussion with Jeanie Buss: https://t.co/HW2xUHLXHm pic.twitter.com/rraZ7zybb8

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 17, 2025

Davis was a key piece on the 2020 Lakers that won the NBA championship in the bubble, with Davis averaging 25 PPG and 10.7 RPG in the Finals. He was arguably the best Laker in that series, even if the Finals MVP went to LeBron James.

But it's important to the Lakers to keep good relationships with stars, as it keeps them at the top of most players' top destinations when they're requesting a trade or leaving in free agency. That's something that Jeanie's father, Jerry Buss, did when he ran the team.

READ MORE: Mavericks' history doesn't bode well for NBA Draft Lottery

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