Like the rest of the world, Anthony Davis was stunned by the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, when the Lakers were playing at Madison Square Garden, Davis was chilling in Los Angeles, as he’d left the road trip due to an abdominal strain.
“I was actually at home, about to watch a movie with my wife, and got the phone call,” Davis told reporters after the Mavericks’ shootaround in Philadelphia on Tuesday, via the Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis. “So I had no idea. I’d just sent the team a text about congratulations on a win against the Knicks, big win, and then looking forward to Tuesday’s game against the Clippers as far as standings purposes. Then found out like an hour later I was no longer with the team. So I was in shock, obviously. I had no idea that it was happening.”
Davis, 31, is a 10-time All-Star and has made five All-NBA teams and five All-Defensive teams. This season, he has averaged 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks with a usage rate of 29.8% and a true shooting percentage of 60.1%. There was no buzz about him being traded, and there was definitely no buzz about Doncic, a perennial MVP candidate, being traded. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and Mavs general manager Nico Harrison reportedly negotiated the trade in secret, without letting the players involved or their agents know what was happening. There was no reason for Davis to expect that he’d be wearing Mavericks gear now.
“After the shock factor wore off,” Davis said, via ESPN, he had one question on his mind: “When do I get to Dallas?” He knew he had to have a physical, then “get to the physical, see the doctors and then get ready to get back to being on the floor with these guys.”
Los Angeles acquired Davis in the summer of 2019 and they won a championship in his first season there. He in no way anticipated that his tenure there was about to end, but he said that he has quickly moved on.
“Now, I’m kind of over it,” Davis told reporters, “and just kind of getting ready to play with Dallas.”
Davis waived his $6 million trade bonus when the trade was completed. He said he did that “just in case” it might help the Mavericks front office improve the roster before Thursday’s trade deadline.
“Trying to help the team,” Davis said, via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Obviously, you always want to get better, and losing a monumental piece like Luka … it’s a lot, right? So I’m just trying to do my part and help Nico and the organization on how we can continuously get better. That’s just always the right thing to do.”
Later Tuesday, Dallas indeed made a move, reportedly trading Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick to the 76ers for Caleb Martin.
Those two teams will meet on Tuesday, but Davis will not be in the lineup. He could make his Mavericks debut when they visit the Boston Celtics on Thursday or when they host the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
“I’ll go through a workout today, see how I feel, and depending on that, get another one in tomorrow,” Davis told reporters. “And then depending on that, see how I feel. If not Thursday, then more than likely Saturday at home.”
Davis said he is “very excited” about teaming up with Kyrie Irving. Before Davis became a Laker, the Celtics famously wanted to unite them.
“I mean, me and Ky talked about this I think in 2018 when I asked for a trade from New Orleans,” Davis said, via Dallas Hoops Journal’s Grant Afseth. “He was in Boston, I think, at the time, and he ended up leaving, going to Brooklyn, but we’ve been wanting to play alongside each other for a very long time and now we’ve got an opportunity to do so.”
Davis has almost exclusively played center in recent years, but he will likely spend most of his minutes at the 4 spot now, simply because of the Mavericks’ roster construction. Dereck Lively II, who is currently out with an ankle injury, is a starting-caliber center, as is Daniel Gafford. Davis has always preferred to play power forward, so he didn’t sound displeased with this situation.
“I think I’ll be playing a lot of 4,” he told reporters. “Obviously Dereck is dealing with an injury, but Gaff has been playing phenomenal, so I think that’s the plan.”
With a smile, Davis added: “Right now I’m just excited to get back to playing basketball. Obviously, dealing with the whole trade thing, but also just the injury. Anytime that I’m out on the floor, I feel better. I haven’t played power forward in a long time with another big. We saw some spurts in LA with Jaxson [Hayes], but to be back naturally at the 4, I’m excited to see how it goes.”
Davis’ relationship with Harrison has been widely cited as a factor in the deal. Davis said that they have known each other “since I was in high school,” and that it will be fun to be at his side. Before Harrison became the general manager of the Mavs, he was a sneaker rep, working for Nike.
“Obviously, one of the guys I got close with when I signed with Nike, and then just stayed close throughout the years,” Davis said. “Even at his time here, we remained good friends. And then now it’s kind of come back full circle with us being together here in Dallas.”
Harrison “believes in me, what I can add to this team,” Davis said. “I’m not going to put everything that we talked about out there, but we were both extremely excited about what we can do and think we have a great opportunity to win a championship.”
