Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic was one of millions around the world to be stunned by the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade him at the 2025 NBA trade deadline. They sent Doncic to L.A. for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in a deal that sent shockwaves around the league, and even required comment from Commissioner Adam Silver.
There were many that felt Silver should step in and prevent the trade from happening, but he remained firm on the stance that unless there is probable cause for collusion between teams, the league cannot veto a legal trade made between two teams that are not owned by the league.
However, now months removed from that trade, Silver spoke more honestly on his personal thoughts on the situation. His focus was largely on Doncic as a human and how he has responded to the deal, according to Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal:
“Putting aside the merits of the trade, you could argue that it was a bit of a kick in the ass to Luka,” says Adam Silver, the NBA’s commissioner. “He didn’t try to sugarcoat this trade.”
To be clear: Silver says this admiringly. “Another player could have said, ‘Oh, now I’m part of the Los Angeles Lakers organization,’ ” he continues. “He didn’t try to hide his disappointment, and I think he was in a bit of a funk for a while, because it was probably the first true professional setback of his career. And I was hoping personally for him that he would ultimately see this as an opportunity to reset.”
Luka certainly has taken the negative from the trade and spun it into a positive. He spent the summer getting into arguably the best shape of his career, leading a massive promotional tour, signing an extension with the Lakers and shining at EuroBasket to lead an undermanned Slovenia team to the quarterfinals.
It would not be surprising to see Doncic’s name atop favorites lists to win the 2025-26 MVP award after the way this summer has gone, and it’s all in response to the stunning trade from February that relocated him from Dallas to L.A.
Luka Doncic didn’t know how to react after trade
The Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers will forever go down as one of, if not the most, shocking trade in the history of the NBA. Not only did it come as a complete shock to the sports world, but it was also a major surprise to Doncic himself.
Doncic had no desire to be traded from the Mavericks and he has spoken about how he wanted to play his entire career in Dallas. By now, he has accepted and grown to enjoy being in Los Angeles and a member of the Lakers franchise, but initially it was difficult for the 26-year-old.
And the Lakers superstar recently opened up about it, saying he didn’t know how to react to the trade when it happened and didn’t want to disappoint fans of the Mavericks or the Lakers.
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