'I don't believe it'... One part of Lakers-Mavericks trade that Anthony Davis won't accept

Anthony Davis has been around the block in the NBA, and he's not so sure about one thing in the trade.

Feb 8, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) celebrates after he dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There are still a lot of people who can't believe the Dallas Mavericks decided to trade away 25-year-old megastar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, especially for the package they received. For the reasons that Dallas cited for trading away Doncic, such as conditioning and long-term health, getting back Anthony Davis as the primary piece seemed like a massive failure to maximize the return on investment.

But there is one thing in particular that Davis can't accept when it comes to the details of the trade. He spoke about it with Broderick Turner of the LA Times.

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Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) watches the game from the bench during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

"They wanted who they wanted," Davis started. "They did what they had to do. I don’t know if they had to, but it’s what they wanted to do. I moved on. I got a wife and kids to worry about, you know what I’m saying? And I’m figuring out how I’m going to get them to Dallas and get adjusted to that. It’s over with, and I’m moving on with my new team and what we got going on...
"The front office has to do what it has to do, and obviously, they’re going to do what’s best for the organization. So I don’t know if I ever got the ‘real’ about any of it. I don’t know what’s true or what’s not, coming from upstairs... Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other sh--. I just don’t believe it. But, hey, man, I’m past that. I’m ready to move forward with Dallas, try to get a championship there with these guys."

According to both general managers involved, Rob Pelinka of the Lakers and Nico Harrison of the Mavericks, the only people who knew Doncic was being traded to the Lakers until the final hour were the two owners. No one else knew discussions were happening, not JJ Redick, not Jason Kidd (supposedly), not Rich Paul (Davis' agent), and certainly not Doncic or Davis. But Pelinka and Harrison each thanked each other in press conferences for keeping talks quiet for as long as possible.

The coaches not being involved is specifically hard to believe. You don't trade someone of Doncic's or Davis' caliber without mentioning it to the coach first. This isn't the first time Davis has been traded, and while he asked for a trade when he went from New Orleans to Los Angeles, certain things usually happen with trades. Whether it's a talk with management or a phone call from an agent, players usually know when they're being discussed in trade talks. That wasn't the case with this mega deal.

Dallas specifically wanted to keep it quiet because they knew if it got out, Doncic and his agent would try to shut down all talks, and the fan reaction may get out of control. The fan reaction has been worse than they expected from their own admission, and Doncic clearly still isn't happy that he was traded. He wanted to be in Dallas his entire career like Dirk Nowitzki, but Nico Harrison decided to blow the team up instead.

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