Mavericks fans are so up in arms over this deal that they’ve been openly protesting against the organization. The franchise’s response by kicking out fans ad-nauseam from gams for expressing their frustrations has further complicated matters.

Fans, teams, and media personalities all seem to agree that this trade shocked the world. Handing the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James a ready-made superstar entering his prime was outrageous to many. The Utah Jazz were part of the trade and even they were kept in the dark on who the Lakers were trading for.

Many calls to the league office regarding a potential veto over the trade were raised. While it’s ludicrous to think the NBA would stop an independent transaction between teams, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has officially laid out why the league didn’t intervene.

Adam Silver doesn’t have the power to veto trades

The NBA world has been stunned by the Luka Doncic trade to Los Angeles. Adam Silver is aware of this fact, revealing on ‘Pardon My Take’ that he’s had fans call out to him asking him to veto the trade.

“And there’s some confusion. People have yelled out to me. For some reason, in the last week or so, when I’ve been at games, that I should be vetoing that trade the way David Stern vetoed a trade back in the old days.”

“There’s always some confusion there. David never vetoed a trade. When he was the acting owner of the New Orleans [Hornets] and the commissioner at the time, he turned down a trade that was proposed to him by the general manager of the team.”

“We don’t put a thumb on the scale, so to speak. When a trade comes into the league office, what our basketball and legal folks do is they make sure that that trade works under the confines of the collective bargaining agreement, whatever rules are in place.

“And then it’s up or down. It gets approved or not based on those rules. We don’t get to weigh on what we think the merits of the trade are or should be.”

Silver is referring to David Stern ‘vetoing’ the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers in 2011. However, Stern never exercised a veto on the trade. The Lakers had revealed the trade to the media before the Hornets (now Pelicans) changed owners.

The NBA was the owner of the franchise at the time, so Stern stopped the deal as Governor of the Hornets. If the Lakers waited one more day, the deal likely would’ve passed under new ownership.

Luka Doncic has had a slow start to life in LA

Luka Doncic has averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on 40.7 FG% and 26.7 3P% in two games wearing a Lakers uniform. He’s coming off a calf injury and is currently on a minutes restriction. However, this probably isn’t the start to life he envisioned when he joined the franchise.

The Lakers are 1-1 through two Doncic appearances, both against the Utah Jazz.

The team is doing everything correctly to ensure Doncic’s success. The Lakers have started their All-Star break, so Doncic gets another week to recover while already getting back into game pace with the Lakers.

He’ll likely be off his minutes restriction for the final stretch of the season, helping the Lakers push for a top-four seed in the West.

Luka Doncic can be the next face of the NBA in a Lakers jersey. He just needs to deliver on his potential and take them back to championship heights. If he can do it with LeBron James beside him, it might be one of the best basketball stories in recent memory.