Some guys have all the luck — and the Los Angeles Lakers are definitely "some guys" in the late hours of Saturday night as Luka Doncic is now coming to the City of Angels after a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks came out of nowhere.
Fans were caught off guard as, even with the NBA's trade deadline just a few days away, nothing of this level had even been hinted at. This is one of the craziest and perhaps most impactful trades in modern history and it seemingly got cooked up on the fly and was made official in the dead of night. This doesn't happen, but it did and the Lakers are the biggest winners as the get a 25-year-old perennial MVP.
LeBron James, even if Anthony Davis is going to Dallas in return, has to be excited about that right? Well, we need to give him time to figure out his emotions because he just found out with the rest of us.
Dave MacMenamin of ESPN reported that LeBron only found about the trade while he was at dinner following the Lakers' game with the Knicks on Saturday. And he was, as you'd expect, surprised by it.
LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 2, 2025
How surprised is, well, surprising to find out too.
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Lakers kept LeBron James, Anthony Davis in dark about Luka Doncic trade
ESPN insider Shams Charania, who broke the news of the monster trade while everyone thought he was hacked, appeared on SportsCenter to break down the deal. And apparently, LeBron was kept in the dark by the Lakers front office as talks moved quickly. Not only that, Davis was not in the know either and that Doncic is "stunned" by this going down.
“This deal materialized in the shadows … LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m told Luka Doncic is still stunned about this trade.”@ShamsCharania on the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade between the Lakers and Mavericks pic.twitter.com/Hp4bL3UX2M
— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2025
Guess we can put some of the LeGM rumors and jokes to bed. LeBron wasn't a part of getting another superstar to Los Angeles, at least this time, as the Doncic trade apparently happened too quickly for Rob Pelinka or anyone to involve the stars involved or around it.
Having said that, early reports suggest that the Mavericks reached out to the Lakers with interest of moving Doncic, seemingly wanting to reshape the present and future. But shockingly, they seemingly only talked to LA about such a deal. That's misguided in itself, but from the Lakers' perspective, it could be a pretty obvious reason why James didn't know. They didn't have time to waste.
When a team comes calling offering you to give you a younger and better superstar than Anthony Davis for Anthony Davis, there isn't time to jump through hoops. You do what's necessary to get the deal done and then ask forgiveness later if you have to.
Once LeBron processes all this, though, I don't think Pelinka or the Lakers at large will need that. He and his team just got better and now have an even more realistic shot at another ring.
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