Anthony Davis bombshell reveals there was much more to Lakers’ Luka Doncic trade than we ever thought

RC Nazemi

•
Anthony Davis bombshell reveals there was much more to Lakers’ Luka Doncic trade than we ever thought image

Last February, the NBA and sports landscape as a whole was flipped completely on its head. In one of the most shocking trades in sports history, the Lakers secured their future by trading Anthony Davis and other assets for a package containing Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. 

It was so mind-blowing at the time that ESPN's Shams Charania, who broke the news, had to send out a follow-up tweet confirming he was not hacked and that the tweet was indeed real. 

Once the dust had settled, the move was quickly met with heartbreak from Dallas fans and pure jubilation from fans of the Purple and Gold. How could the Mavericks trade their 25-year-old five-time All-NBA First Team superstar away for an injury-prone big exiting his prime years? 

Thanks to Brett Siegel and ClutchPoints, we now have some answers on what led to the eventual breakdown of the Lakers' relationship with Anthony Davis. 

More: Insider reveals mastermind behind Mavericks' blockbuster Luka Doncic trade to Lakers

Trouble started to brew from 2019-20 on

When Anthony Davis came to Los Angeles in the summer of 2019, he obviously couldn't have been happier. To go from a consistently subpar Pelicans team to playing for the most iconic franchise in the sport is a nice change of pace for a 26-27-year-old superstar. 

This energy quickly manifested itself, producing what would be the Lakers' first title since 2010. In just his first season with the team, he and LeBron James had already managed to bring home the Larry O'Brien. If they did this in their first season, who's to say they can't rattle off a couple more in the next 3-5 seasons? 

Reality quickly set in and hit the franchise like a truck. Since their ring, the Lakers only made it out of the opening round of the playoffs once in 2023, when they reached the Western Conference Finals to face the eventual champion Nuggets. 

Something was not working, and Lakers brass had to get to the bottom of it because in LA, it's championship or bust. 

Anthony Davis had slowly but surely fallen out of favor in LA

With results continually failing to meet expectations, Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, and other Lakers officials had to get together and figure out the next steps. 

According to Siegel, after coming in with tremendous energy and enthusiasm his first summer, every summer since their championship, it seemed to wane. Davis was repeatedly coming into camp out of shape. 

A team source even was quoted as saying, "There were moments in the preseason where we wondered if he had even worked out at all in the summer."

This lack of preparation and care in taking care of his body led to the continual injuries that were on full display seemingly every season after 2019-20. 

Once, blame was heavily shifted from his own shortcomings and placed on the organization's failure to secure another big alongside Davis; that's when they knew a change needed to be made.

After making calls around the league, Los Angeles eventually and obviously settled on the trade for Luka Dončić. In hindsight, with how much was going on behind the scenes, the Lakers made out even better in this deal than anyone already thought. 

More NBA News: 

Editorial Team