NBA Commissioner breaks silence on Mavericks-Lakers Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis deal

Adam Silver joined Pardon My Take to give his thoughts on the blockbuster trade.

Keenan Womack | Feb 14, 2025

[US, Mexico, & Canada customers only] Jan 23, 2025; Paris, FRANCE; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks before the Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters via Imagn Images / Reuters via Imagn Images

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Dallas Mavericks

In the aftermath of the shocking Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, many were calling for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to 'veto' the trade, something that has been done once but under much different circumstances during the David Stern era. In that particular situation, Stern was acting in the interest of the New Orleans Hornets, as the league owned the team at the time.

Silver explained on the podcast Pardon My Take that all the NBA front office does is make sure that the contracts in trades work "under the confines of the collective bargaining agreement" and that they have no say in roster moves other than that.

"Did you at least text [GM Nico Harrison], 'Are you sure?'" asked one cohost, Big Cat, jokingly. Dallas has become a punchline in basketball front-office discussions across the NBA. Silver shook his head before being asked about whether he was excited that Doncic had landed in a market as big as Los Angeles, a point with which he disagreed.

"Look at the league right now...two smaller market teams...have the two best records in the league...and I think that's great. We've had six different NBA champions in the past six years...This may sound obvious, but I want all of our teams to do well and be competitive, and frankly, Dallas is a big market. So, was I surprised from that standpoint that he was traded? Yeah, I'm a fan...teams don't necessarily give the league inside information...so this trade wasn't one that I saw coming."

The commissioner was pretty candid in his reasoning here, further pointing away from conspiracy theories and towards the fact that the Mavericks front office really did independently make this choice, to the chagrin of an entire fanbase and shock of everybody else. People may not like Adam Silver for whatever reason, but it does not seem like the NBA is guilty of collusion in this particular case.

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Published Feb 14, 2025

KEENAN WOMACK

Keenan Womack is a sportswriter native to Dallas, Texas, who has spent the last 12 years in Austin, the home of his alma mater, the University of Texas. Keenan has covered sports for SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Rivals/Orangebloods, a host of his own sites and now, Fan Nation. Focusing on basketball, Keenan was on the beat for the Longhorns hoops team for the last two-and-a-half years before moving on to pursue other opportunities. He is married and lives with his wife close to the Moody Center, so they can continue to catch games together.