The Luka Dončić trade remains a mystery to many basketball fans outside of the L.A. Lakers community. Of course, the Lakers aren’t going to argue against ridding themselves of an injury-prone superstar, who we are finding out now, was also disgruntled about how he was being utilized.
RELATED: Why Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Will Never Win NBA Title Together
Anthony Davis Reportedly Not Happy With His Lakers Situation
No surprise that Davis became another one of LeBron James’ wingmen who were unenamored with playing in his controlled system. There have been plenty of others. He didn’t seem to be happy about the Bronny fiasco or the pomp and circumstance surrounding LeBron’s retirement and his record-breaking tour.
Then there were the podcast talking heads and former NBA players who Davis has made mincemeat of in the past, talking down on his career. Bron’s too.
The doubt that permeated across sports talk that AD and Bron would never win another title together and people tending to forget that Davis is a Top 75 player and superstar too, all contributed to the end result.
While Davis fought to struggle through injuries and was labeled derogatory names such as “The Tin Man” and “Street Clothes,” for his inability to stay on the court, people praised LeBron for his durability and his proper use of load management.
Keeping your superstars happy is the recipe for success, so when Jeanie Buss got the miracle alley-oop of an opportunity to basically trade Davis for one of the top three scorers in the league in his prime, it didn’t take a genius to make that trade. Why the Mavericks did it is a whole other documentary that has yet to be made.
If anything, Jeanie Buss understands the value of keeping two superstars on the court for the Lakers. It’s a recipe that has benefited the franchise since the days of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.
Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Says She Traded Anthony Davis Because He Was Disgruntled
In a candid discussion on the “Morning Edition” with NPR, Jeanie Buss revealed that Anthony Davis’ ongoing discontent with his playing role forced her and GM Rob Pelinka to make a move before it was too late.
“Anthony Davis was complaining about where he was being played and he wasn’t happy. So I think this was a positive for both teams. They got what they were looking for; we got what we were looking for.” she said.
Her comments underscored past rumors that Davis was disgruntled with the entire operation and how he fit in. After winning the NBA title in the Bubble in 2020, Davis’ Lakers career has been a rocky road. He’s sensational when he’s on the court, but his health issues, his desire to play another position and LA not looking like a championship caliber team as LeBron ages — were pivotal factors that the organization could no longer ignore.
Buss Says She Doesn’t Listen To Industry Planting Rumors
Buss clarified that the decision to trade Davis wasn’t as easy as everyone thinks, and she doesn’t feed into rumors or social media narratives when making business decisions about the franchise her father Dr. Jerry Buss left in her care.
“You realize in our business that a lot of the rumors are planted by people in the industry who are trying to curry favor with the media. There’s kind of this ‘write good things about me as general manager and I’ll feed you my inside information. Then we both win,” she explained.
While the Lakers and Luka have taken off into another orbit and skyrocketed to a top 3 favorite to win the NBA championship, Davis has played just one game with the Mavericks, teasing the fans with a 26-point and 16-rebound performance, before going down with a left adductor injury that has kept him sidelined for nearly a month. The Mavs endured that stretch and now with Davis set to return in a week or so, Kyrie Irving suffered a knee injury and had to be helped off the court on Monday night. So the future of this tandem is up in the air.
Hopefully we can see Davis and Kyrie on the court together challenging the Lakers for Western conference supremacy. Davis’ status as a Top 75 player and the various ways he impacts the game on offense and defense is a rare skill. One that you need en route to a championship, and a skill set that the Slovenian scoring sensation doesn’t have. Regardless of why Buss made the deal, it’s one that any owner would accept in a minute under the circumstances.
