In a press conference during NBA All-Star weekend, Adam Silver revealed his perspective on the trade that shook the entire NBA (Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis). Even though Silver holds the ultimate authority in the NBA (as the league’s commissioner), he says he was shocked by the trade, just like everyone else.
“I was surprised when I heard the trade. I did not know that Luka Doncic was potentially a player that was about to be traded,” said Silver. “That was news to me, I followed it like a fan from that standpoint. And I’ve said before that’s the kind of confidential information that’s generally not shared with the league in advance unless the team is publicly shopping a player and to the best of my knowledge that’s not what happened in the case of Dallas and Los Angeles.”
The NBA league office is informed of trades only after both teams agree, and there’s no way for Silver to know what’s happening while the negotiations are still ongoing. While the league office can step in under certain conditions, the Luka trade was entirely initiated by the Mavericks with no involvement from outside sources.
Despite his shock and the backlash from Mavericks fans, Silver says that it’s too early to judge if the Luka trade was a success or failure. Both teams did what they thought was right and Silver urged both fan bases to believe in their respective teams.
“Whether or not history will ultimately judge this as a smart trade, Dallas did what they think was in the best interest of their organization,” said Silver via Ben Golliver. “Mavs fans should believe in their organization.”
The full trade sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a future first-round pick to the Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic, Markieff Morris, and Maxi Kleber. The shocking deal set the Lakers up for the next 10 years with a guy in Doncic who averages 28.6 points per game for his career. He’s a 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA player, and still fresh off leading the Mavericks to the Finals in 2024.
The explanation from the Mavericks was twofold: concerns over Luka’s conditioning and their strong desire to acquire Anthony Davis (10x All-Star, 1x NBA champion) and shore up their frontcourt rotation. Those are the biggest reasons the Mavericks have offered so far but it hasn’t been enough to silence the critics.
Against Silver’s message about acceptance, Mavericks fans have been going crazy about the trade and making a huge scene online and in the arena. In protest over Luka’s departure, they’ve taken drastic methods to express their anger, from raising signs in the arena to making a makeshift memorial for No. 77.
Countless experts and analysts have dubbed the Luka trade as the worst in NBA history because it involved the Mavericks giving up a 25-year-old generational superstar. To make matters worse, Anthony Davis got injured in his Mavericks debut and is set to miss weeks to recover.
Despite all the details, Adam Silver wants the fans to trust that their team made the right decision. That conclusion is easy for the Lakers to accept but the Mavericks will have to win something magnificent before anyone gives them the benefit of the doubt.
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