The Los Angeles Lakers held an introductory press conference for Luka Doncic on Tuesday morning, three days after a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz was first reported.
In a deal that many initially struggled to believe as true, the Lakers traded Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round draft pick to the Mavericks for Doncic, Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber.
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L.A. additionally sent Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Jazz, who also received multiple future second-round picks.
In acquiring Doncic, the Lakers have a succession plan for whenever LeBron James retires. There was some thought that the Lakers trading Davis, a close friend of James, would prompt the four-time champion to seek being dealt as well.
However, James is believed to instead be embracing an opportunity to play with and mentor Doncic.
The 25-year-old is still on the mend from a left calf strain but could make his Lakers debut within the next week. The Lakers’ final three games before the All-Star break are Feb. 8, 10 and 12. The first two of those contests are home games against the Indiana Pacers and Jazz, respectively.
Luka Doncic’s reaction to Lakers trade
Doncic began his NBA career with the Mavericks after being selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2018 Draft. The Hawks immediately traded Doncic to the Mavericks for the draft rights to Trae Young.
The 25-year-old developed a strong connection to Dallas, and expressed his gratitude for the city and Mavericks fans in a statement shortly after the trade was made official. But Doncic’s remarks about the trade otherwise did not come until his first press conference with the Lakers.
“I’m excited for this new journey and happy to be here,” Doncic said.
He fielded multiple questions about reported concerns the Mavericks had of committing longterm to a supermax contract extension that would’ve been the richest deal in NBA history, but declined to address those and instead took the “high road.”
Doncic did acknowledge being traded stunned him but he is looking forward to starting his Lakers career.
“I mean, everybody was surprised. So you can imagine how surprised I was. I was almost asleep when I got the call, so I had to check if it was April 1st,” Doncic said.
“I didn’t really believe it at first. It was a big shock and a hard moment for me. It was home, so it was really a hard moment for me. With that said, I get to play for the greatest club in the world, and I’m excited for this journey.”
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