Siegel writes that the Lakers began making trade calls to teams about Anthony Davis in December 2024 — then, when Nico found out, he “immediately contacted Pelinka”. For reference, Nico’s coffee meeting with Pelinka happened the 1st week of January 2025.

“There were moments in the preseason where we wondered if he had even worked out at all in the summer,” one team source who was granted anonymity to speak freely said of Davis entering the 2024-25 season. “He would come back, go through warmups, and then either sit out to be with the training staff or basically half-ass what the team was doing.

“When he first got here, that wasn't the case. He was always wanting to go above and beyond, and he was one of the first in the gym, last out of it. Over the years, that changed, and he almost became content in a way. It was clear he was out of shape and didn't seem to care what the higher-ups were telling him. Something definitely changed.”

Between worries about Davis' offseason conditioning, commitment, and ability to become the “alpha” of the team once LeBron was ready to move on, Pelinka and the Lakers began making calls to some teams in December 2024, multiple sources said.

In fact, one source from an Eastern Conference team who was present for these conversations about Davis and the Lakers claimed they were “laughable” at first because they didn't believe for a second that Davis was truly available.

“When AD (Anthony Davis) was the name that came up, we all kind of looked at each other like, ‘Yeah, okay.' But the conversation was actually serious, and things began shifting to the point where they were seriously wanting to know whether we would be interested. That's as far as it got. We kept all of it in-house to make sure that opportunity didn't disappear, whether it be at the deadline or in the offseason.

“Little did we know, they did the same thing with Nico and the Mavs, and obviously nobody was going to beat a Luka deal.”

Of the teams that the Lakers spoke with when they were first putting out feelers for Davis, the Boston Celtics held a couple of calls with Los Angeles, sources said. Nothing ever progressed to where there was any actual momentum, but Los Angeles was receiving signals that Brad Stevens and his front office were receptive to the idea.

The five-word message the Lakers got back from Boston was enough to let them know they would consider such a move in the summer: “We'll keep it in mind.”

While other teams were rumored to have spoken with the Lakers about Davis in December 2024, these organizations would not be confirmed by either side. Still, there were at least five teams that held dialogue with the Lakers more than once after Los Angeles' initial feeler to discuss Davis and minor details regarding his status.

Two other Eastern Conference teams were also intrigued by the Lakers bringing up Davis' name. These organizations were the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, multiple sources said. Of course, the Lakers were simply putting out feelers for Davis and still didn't have interest in trading him during the 2024-25 season, but Los Angeles was serious about putting together real trade packages in the offseason.

What nobody knew at the time is that when Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks heard about the Lakers gauging early trade interest in Davis for the 2025 offseason, the Mavs' executive immediately contacted Pelinka, whom he has always shared a strong relationship with dating back to Harrison's time as an executive at Nike when Pelinka was Kobe Bryant's agent.

Both Harrison and Pelinka made sure their conversations were secure among a tight-lipped group, which included Lakers' governor Jeanie Buss and new Mavs owner Patrick Dumont.

At no point were others made aware of these advanced trade discussions between the Mavs and Lakers focused on Doncic and Davis until it was all finalized, multiple sources confirmed to ClutchPoints. Not even Paul and Davis knew about Dallas discussing Doncic's future, let alone Davis' time in Los Angeles likely coming to an end after the 2024-25 season.