The Utah Jazz played a big part in what is the biggest trade in NBA history, as the Los Angeles Lakers sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic. But according to Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Jazz CEO Danny Ainge had no idea he was helping the Lakers land Luka Doncic in this trade until 30 minutes before the deal was formalized.
“In all of those trades, outside forces undermined the trade process. For a trade of this magnitude to come to fruition, the circle had to be small. And the only person Harrison felt he could trust to execute this highly charged, intensely secretive process was Pelinka.”
“Even the Utah Jazz, the third team that facilitated the transaction by collecting two second-round picks for absorbing Jalen Hood-Schifino, didn’t know Doncic and Davis were a part of the deal until about an hour before it was completed, league sources said.”
“Even Jazz president Danny Ainge, who hails from the Lakers’ hated rival, the Boston Celtics, had about only 30 minutes notice, sources said, that Los Angeles was about to acquire Doncic to be the new face of its franchise.”
Danny Ainge not knowing about the nature of this deal makes all the sense in the world. Given his very hostile trade negotiations with the Lakers over Walker Kessler these past few weeks have shown that he doesn’t want to help the Lakers. This could be because the Jazz have control over their 2027 first-round pick.
Another reason could be Ainge’s loyalty to the Boston Celtics, who are the hated rivals of the Los Angeles Lakers. Ainge was with the Celtics as GM for 18 years before leaving to join the Utah Jazz. It wouldn’t be surprising if he let his affiliations with the Celtics influence his decision-making when it comes to the Lakers.
Rob Pelinka Didn’t Let Any Information Leak
In the same report, it was noted that Rob Pelinka, the Los Angeles Lakers GM, knew how important it was that the details of this trade not leak before everything was formalized. MacMahon and Shelburne noted that previous trade attempts by the Lakers to land Chris Paul in 2011 and their first failed attempt to land Anthony Davis during the 2018-19 season.
“Pelinka and the Lakers understood. Nothing could leak. Not a breath of it. They’d learned the same lesson many times throughout their recent history with blockbuster trades: the infamous failed trade for Chris Paul in 2011, which was scuttled by then-NBA commissioner David Stern after heavy pressure from rival owners.”
“The prolonged, circus-like trade for Davis in 2019 that ruined in the second half of the 2018-19 season and contributed to Magic Johnson’s ignominious ending as Lakers president.”
The Lakers kept things close to the vest. LeBron James didn’t have any idea about the deal and only found out while at dinner with his family. Anthony Davis was texting his teammates congratulations on their win over the Knicks when he was informed. So this deal very much came out of nowhere.
Now that this trade is done, the NBA will turn its attention to the remaining teams, as the trade deadline is this Thursday, February 6th. Stay tuned to Fadeaway World for all the updates ahead of the trade deadline.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
