The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks have reportedly agreed to a deal swapping Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. This trade, which includes additional players, is headlined by Doncic and Davis. Doncic, a five-time NBA All-Star, has spent all seven years of his career with Dallas, while Davis, also a five-time All-Defensive star, was instrumental in the Lakers’ 2020 NBA championship and has made four All-Star appearances with the team (including this season). Reactions to the trade have been swift, including one from Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant.
Following a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Durant commented on the NBA’s loyalty double-standard. “Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program, but the organizations don’t get held to that same standard from the outside,” Durant said (via Duane Rankin of azcentral). Regarding the potential impact of such trades, Durant added, “For sure. You start seeing stuff like that, as an organization, you might get a little more courage to do some stuff. You see another team trade away somebody like that.”
Durant, who has been in the league for 18 years, emphasized the magnitude of the trade. “This got to be the biggest trade I’ve seen since I’ve been in the league or since I’ve been watching the sport. This is insane. So yeah, every other team might get confidence and say [expletive] it, I’ll trade a few of my top players if this ain’t working.” For Durant, the Doncic-to-Lakers trade is the biggest he’s witnessed.
