NBA Rumors: Multiple Teams ‘Had No Idea Luka Was Available’ Before Lakers Trade
Sam Hodde/Getty Images
The Dallas Mavericks do not appear to have thoroughly shopped Luka Dončić before trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis on Saturday night.
Multiple NBA teams said the night of the trade they had “no idea Luka was available,” according to The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo.
Russillo @ryenarussillo
Just taped emergency pod with @BillSimmons and @RobMahoney
Heard from multiple teams tonight that said they had no idea Luka was available. You want to trade Luka, ok, but you start a bidding war. There was no reason to accept this deal so early.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the trade took place after Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, backed by team owner Patrick Dumont, decided “to pursue Davis and pretty much no one else.”
Stein reported that the Mavs “did not make Dončić available to interested teams for the richest possible haul of draft picks.”
According to Stein, the Mavericks believe Davis is “a top-10 player in the league.” The chance to acquire him alongside Max Christie and a 2019 first-rounder was apparently enough to keep Dallas from publicly putting Dončić on the trade block.
This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
Related
Mavericks approached another NBA team about a Luka Doncic trade…
One team wasn’t as eager as the Lakers to acquire Luka Doncic. As concern within the Mavericks front office grew over Doncic’s durability and
ESPN Insider Explains How Luka-AD Trade Could Completely Shake-Up NBA…
The upcoming NBA trade deadline was quiet until the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers completed a mega-trade, superstar swap which saw Luka Doncic and Ant
Prominent NBA writer calls Dallas GM’s Luka Dončić secrecy, low…
The Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade shocked the sports world Saturday night. And a big part of that was that unlike many NBA moves, there were few to no
Brian Windhorst reveals text from NBA All-Star about Mavericks ‘hating’…
The Dallas Mavericks just made one of the most shocking moves in NBA history, trading franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster
