In an appearance on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Los Angeles Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss looked back on the trade that shook the basketball world. As Jeanie explained, the acquisition of Luka Doncic had to be kept under wraps or it might have jeopardized the entire deal.
“If it did leak, the trade probably wouldn’t have happened for so many different reasons,” said Buss. “People working against us who would not want to see that trade happen. So, keeping things under wraps is important, and our circle is tight because over the years we did have problems with things leaking out, and that did disrupt plans and cause some problems in our basketball operations.”
Jeanie Buss did not elaborate on the source of her team’s prior media leaks, but she says that those days are over after restricting her inner circle to only those she could trust.
“I was talking to somebody in the media who asked me, ‘How is that possible?’ Finally, we got rid of the problem, and now we can keep things under wraps,” said Jeanie. “That person said, ‘Jeanie, we like leaks.’ In other words, the media likes it when we have problems with leaking information because that’s how they keep their business. So I learned a lesson there that you always have to do what’s best for the organization because everybody’s got their angle.”
Jeanie went on to explain the full scope of her involvement in the Luka trade. While she did not initiate the negotiations between Rob Pelinka and Nico Harrison, she knew very early on what was happening.
“When the talks started, Rob kept me informed,” Buss said. There’s a concern with any trade, not just this trade in particular, especially because we were doing well, and we have a first-year head coach. Doing a trade is risky during the season because it can blow up everything. After all, now there’s some mistrust or chemistry issues. There’s some risks involved, so Rob and I talked about it a lot and kept a parallel path about whether or not to go forward with the trade.”
Jeanie Buss has made plenty of big trades before, to varying degrees of success. Out of them all, however, trading for No. 77 may be the most impactful given what his arrival means for the Purple and Gold.
Funnily enough, the Lakers weren’t looking for a trade at the time of the deal. They had a proven tandem in Anthony Davis and LeBron James, who had won the championship in 2020. Under head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers found new life and were competitive in almost every game.
When the Mavericks came to offer Luka Doncic, however, the Lakers were obliged to listen, and it turned out to be an opportunity they couldn’t refuse. As Rob Pelinka worked to strike a deal behind the scenes, Buss ensured that it was all kept quiet so that nothing could get in the way.
Between Buss, Pelinka, and Redick, the Lakers have a very close-knit group of decision-makers, and that’s how they were able to avoid leaking the Luka trade. Had the world found out ahead of time, it might have never happened based purely on the fan reaction and overwhelming criticism from the NBA community.
