Reactions to the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis blockbuster trade
Reactions to the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks:
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“Thanks for everything.” — Doncic, in the Mavericks’ player group chat, according to The Dallas Morning News.
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“Luka absolutely did not deserve this. He sacrificed a lot. He really respected Dallas. Luka respected the whole city.” — Sasa Doncic, Luka Doncic’s father, on Slovenian television Sunday.
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“I was surprised. I’ll say that. I was surprised. But it’s the league — and that’s what I think makes the league so amazing. You don’t know what’s going to happen. And each organization has their own plan, but each organization is chasing the same thing. So, you got 30 teams going at it in different ways, and that’s what makes it so fun.” — Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
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“We will be relentless in building a roster around the on-court vision Coach (J.J.) Redick has for this basketball team and there is an unwavering commitment to that work to serve our loyal and dedicated fans. We are grateful for today and look forward to what’s next.” — Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
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“Defense wins championships. AD is the one that we truly believe fits. … When you look at going forward, we’re looking at the window to win now.” — Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
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“It’s obviously two great players that have had incredible success with teams, and they’ve had incredible individual career success as well. You know, obviously, Anthony Davis has been in the league a lot longer, but certainly Luka’s impact early in his career has been pretty profound.” — Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
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“We definitely understand the magnitude of what just transpired. It’s not lost on us. We would like to thank Luka for his brilliance.” — Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
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“I just love seeing great players. I love seeing great players play together. I mean, for the fan, it’s fascinating. It’s interesting, positive thing for the league. And then you could say, how about AD and Kyrie together? It’s what makes it a great league that great players can team up.” — Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, asked on what it’ll be like to see Doncic and LeBron James together.
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“Just like everyone else, I thought it was AI-generated. Then I found out it was real. That’s about it. It’s just a shocking trade. You don’t see it. … Two teams thought they could make their teams better. That’s what I always say. And usually one will be right.” — Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers.
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“I thought it was fake news. It’s insane. This is the world we’re living in. It’s a business. You have to understand this. Nobody’s safe. … I understand the business of basketball, that sometimes teams got to make the best moves that are good for their organization and their position and for their own pursuit of greatness and a championship. But at the same time, it goes both ways. You cannot have a double standard here. When teams make the best moves for them and they believe that they can get another player to win now, when a player believes that he can go to a different team and he believes he can have a chance to win a championship, we cannot crucify the person and say that he’s not loyal and he didn’t do the right thing and he let everybody down.” — Milwaukee Bucks forward and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo
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“Don’t ask about the trades. I don’t really care.” — Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
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“Unprecedented, right? That those kind of players are moving — you know, surprising, for sure, but I think there’s been a lot of stars moving in the recent years that we’ve all been surprised by and all that kind of stuff. My initial thought always is I’ve got enough to worry about with my own team.” — Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse.
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“The Mavs obviously had to make a decision this summer whether to give him five years, $350 million. That’s a lot of money to give a guy you don’t think can stay in shape and is always going to be hurt. … He’s a great player. But they must know something we don’t know.” — NBA analyst Charles Barkley, on NBA TV.
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“Luka getting traded from Dallas has to have a deeper story behind it. This just doesn’t happen on a random Saturday night.” — Cleveland center Tristan Thompson, on X.
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“Wait what?” — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who sits courtside at Mavs games from time to time, on X.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
By The Associated Press
