What's the most emotional you've ever gotten over an NBA trade? For me, it was when my Charlotte Bobcats traded Emeka Okafor to the New Orleans Hornets for Tyson Chandler. In retrospect, that trade was about as low-stakes as possible, but I was 11 — and Emeka was my guy.
The emotion of a blockbuster trade hits a bit differently when you're actually involved in the trade. When Lakers star Luka Dončić found out he was being traded to Los Angeles, he threw his phone — but kept using it, as "it still works" — he said in an interview with Malika Andrews of ESPN.
"You hang up the phone, the night you're traded, and you threw it?" Andrews asked Luka, who responded simply with "Yes."
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Luka had a fitting reaction for a shocking piece of news
Honestly, throwing a phone is wholly reasonable when finding out your whole life is being uprooted. Moving to Los Angeles and playing with LeBron James isn't the worst thing that can happen to a man, but Luka — and the rest of us — assumed he was a Mavs lifer, and the rug was pulled out from underneath him. A quick burst of anger from Dončić is more than understandable... Mavs fans are still feeling the anger about two months later, and that's understandable, too!
Sometimes anger is a deterrent for professional athletes; we've all watched players get into their own heads, then press a bit, and when that happens, things often go off the rails. But Luka's anger is clearly going to be used as fuel in a Lakers playoff run, and that's the best revenge he can get on his manipulative ex (Nico Harrison).
If the only casualty of an angry outburst is a broken iPhone screen, that's a win!
LeBron James likely had a different reaction to Luka Dončić trade
I guess I can't say for certain if LeBron threw a phone after finding out about the deal, but I'll venture a guess that he felt more confusion than outright anger. Brian Windhorst reported that he was out to dinner when he got the news — and I really, really want to know what restaurant he was at so we can ask for security footage to see his instant reaction.