Anthony Davis Shares Inside Story Of Lakers Trade To Mavericks

The Anthony Davis era with the Dallas Mavericks was short-lived. A total of 31 games, including two Play-In games, over a span of a calendar year is all we saw of Davis after the infamous trade, where he was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for Luka Doncic, and then was salary-dumped to the Washington Wizards this year.

Everyone was stunned by the deal. Doncic had just led the Mavs to the NBA Finals a few months before and was now being shipped to LA for a horrible return. Davis was just as stunned, and he revealed a candid story to Draymond Green on learning of the trade.

"So when [Rich Paul] said traded to Dallas, I was like, 'Get the f**k outta here. Who the f**k they gonna trade me for, Luka? Who else can you trade me for on that team?' They just went to the Finals and it was never no discussion about, 'We might get AD outta [LA],' it was nothing. He was like, 'They traded you for Luka.' I'm like, 'Rich, shut the hell up. What are you on?' I'm thinking he's just playing...

"Nico [Harrison] was calling me... 'Yeah, I told you I was gonna come get you one day, ' Harrison said. 'I wanted you.' I'm still like, 'Alright, I know Rich and Nico are cool, but y'all playing a joke.' ... I call Rob Pelinka back, and he's telling me all this stuff, basically, I got traded for Luka. Some of the stuff he was saying, I didn't understand. 'When [Lebron James] is done, we want someone to take over, we want to go younger, rebuild.' I just didn't understand what he was saying.

"As I'm hearing this, I'm now checked out. I hear you, but I'm not listening... I was like, you know what? I'll know how it's true. I'll go on X and go straight to Shams [Charania]'s page. Nothing... I'm walking out the kitchen, turn the corner to go up the stairs, Joel Embiid calls me... He's in Philly, 12 o'clock. I don't answer. Going upstairs, then somebody else called me, another player, I'm like, 'Hold on.' So I go back to Shams' page, and then, there it is. 'Breaking News: Dallas Mavericks trade Luka Doncic...' Run upstairs. 'Baby, I just got traded to Dallas.' 'Shut up.' Now this time, I'm not shaking, it's like my heart is in my stomach, like, 'What the f**k just happened?'

"...I'm in shock. I'm genuinely in shock. I call everybody that's with me, like, 'I just got traded to Dallas.' They don't believe me... I had no idea this was happening. I couldn't make sense of it. Why?... We come in, I have a conversation with Rob at the beginning of the season, have a conversation with JJ [Redick], and we're playing well, I'm playing great this season, I just come off 40 and 20, 'AD is the hub,' Bron is like, 'This is AD.'

"Even though I didn't understand it from my view, I understood it as far as the trade like, Luka is f**king Luka, you see what he's doing. He's what, 27 now, was 26 or 25 at the time, I was 31, 32, so from the business standpoint, I can't be mad. But like, why? I couldn't fathom, I couldn't understand it. And nobody told me nothing. Nobody said a thing to me... That's what I couldn't get over, that's what I still can't over. I deserve much more respect than that."

Anthony Davis on being traded for Luka Doncic:

“If I ever got with Luka oh my gosh. So when he said traded to Dallas, I was like get the f**k out of here. And I said who the f**k they going to trade me for Luka n****? Who else can you trade me for on that team?”

(via… pic.twitter.com/8CO9uqqDo7
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 8, 2026

Takeaways From Anthony Davis' Reaction to the Luka Doncic Trade

There are a few things to take away from this long spiel by Anthony Davis. First, Nico Harrison is insane. To trade away Luka Doncic, and the first call you make to Anthony Davis to say "I told you I'd come get you" comes off as incredibly strange. It further supports that Harrison did this all on his own.

Secondly, it shows just how quiet both sides kept it. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka knew if word started to get out, other teams would show more interest. The Mavericks knew if it got out, Luka Doncic would play it through the media on not wanting to leave.

Davis was so baffled at the thought of being traded, mostly because he was totally out of the loop. He didn't know until the trade was done.

And all it did was nearly dismantle a franchise.

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