The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks had the world in shock late Saturday night when reports came out they agreed to a blockbuster trade, swapping superstars in Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis.
The move came out of nowhere as there were no indications that either superstar was being shopped, especially in a deal for each other. The trade was so surprising that even LeBron James had no knowledge it was in the works and was just as shocked as everybody else, according to reports.
Once news came out, everyone started speculating about why both sides made the deal. One reporter even went as far to say that James was growing frustrated with Davis, which prompted the 40-year-old to take to social media to refute it:
You a fkn lie!!! 🤥🤡 https://t.co/EYNRUbUFmj
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 2, 2025
James and Davis were extremely close during their five-and-a-half seasons together with the Lakers, so any frustration from either of them would definitely come as a surprise. Things have been going well for the Lakers in recent weeks and even though Davis recently went down with a minor abdomen injury, he had been playing at an extremely high level.
Now though, the James and Davis pairing has come to a stunning end. LeBron’s new co-star is Doncic, who he has long been an admirer of.
A trade like this obviously takes some getting used to, but once the shock wears off, the Lakers will have a 25-year-old superstar to build around for years to come.
Meanwhile in Dallas, Davis will pair with one of James’ other former co-stars in Kyrie Irving as they look to capitalize on a championship window in the next couple of seasons.
LeBron has not given his thoughts on the trade yet, so it will be interesting to see if he is on board with finishing out his career with Doncic in the purple of gold or if he potentially reconsiders his own future now that Davis is no longer in L.A.
Anthony Davis ‘good’ with trade from Lakers to Mavericks
While this couldn’t have been an easy trade for Anthony Davis to process, reports indicate he is ‘good’ with it and will waive his trade kicker to be sent from the Lakers to the Mavericks.
The Lakers are also sending Max Christie to Dallas and Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Utah Jazz as part of the deal, acquiring Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris along with Doncic.
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