February’s trade that brought Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and draft compensation shocked the world like no other trade in recent memory. What made it more shocking was the fact that, until it happened, it seemed as if Davis would be a Laker for the foreseeable future.
But in a recent article for ClutchPoints, NBA insider Brett Siegel revealed that the tension between Davis and the Lakers organization had been building for months at the time of the deal. In fact, per Siegel, executive Rob Pelinka started to look to trade the superstar big man several weeks before it ultimately moved him for Doncic.
“Between worries about Davis’ offseason conditioning, commitment, and ability to become the ‘alpha’ of the team once LeBron [James] was ready to move on, Pelinka and the Lakers began making calls to some teams in December 2024, multiple sources said,” Siegel wrote.
“Minor conversations were held between Pelinka, other team front-office personnel, and rival teams around the league. Davis was the topic at hand. Although Pelinka and the Lakers as a whole didn’t hold virtually any desire to trade Davis, they began reaching out to some teams about Davis’ value and the possibility of putting him on the trade block in the summer after the 2024-25 season ended.”
At first, other teams didn’t believe Los Angeles was serious about making Davis available. But as the team continued to make calls around the league, at least one team started to reciprocate.
“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.’ It is worth noting that the Celtics were next to the Lakers in terms of pursuing Davis when he was traded from the Pelicans in 2019.
“… 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.
“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.
“Interest from the Lakers’ side in terms of gauging interest in Davis was very real, and the possibility of moving on from the multi-time All-Star big man during the offseason grew more with every conversation they held around the league.”
Davis’ time with Dallas has gotten off to a poor start. He missed several weeks last season due to a strained left adductor, and he then underwent surgery during the offseason to fix a detached retina in his right eye. He’s currently sidelined with a calf strain.
He has averaged 20.3 points and 10.1 rebounds a game with the Mavericks — numbers that are well below the 24.8 points and 11 rebounds per game he put up as a member of the Purple and Gold.