The Los Angeles Lakers’ shocking trade of Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis remains one of the most talked-about moves in recent NBA history, and Jeanie Buss has now confirmed that LeBron James was completely in the dark about the deal.
While there was intense speculation about whether James, one of the most influential players in league history, was aware of the trade before it happened, Buss put those rumors to rest in an interview on The Stephen A. Smith Show.
“It wasn’t that we were trying to keep it from anyone specific. It was just about keeping a lid on something that, had the trade not worked out, would have sent repercussions around the team. And I said, we have a rookie coach, and we wanted to make things as smooth as possible.”
“The trade talks lasted a few weeks, and there were a lot of details that had to go into the trade. We had to create space by bringing in another team and trading a player there who could take on a salary, so it was very complicated.”
“We were not trying to leave anybody out. What we were trying to do was protect the team and allow our coach and coaching staff to have the least amount of distractions in a business where all there is are distractions—people trying to get you off your game.”
Buss explained that the secrecy surrounding the trade was not about keeping it from LeBron specifically, but rather about protecting the team’s chemistry and minimizing distractions.
She emphasized how difficult and complex the deal was, involving multiple teams and salary cap maneuvering. Given that the Lakers had a rookie head coach in JJ Redick, the front office wanted to avoid unnecessary turmoil while negotiations were ongoing.
When asked whether the Lakers were concerned about potentially damaging their relationship with LeBron, Buss admitted that the decision was not made lightly.
“There were a lot of concerns, especially doing it during the season. But I think back to when Dr. Buss traded Shaquille O’Neal. That did happen in the offseason, but you have to weigh everything, including how the fans are going to react to losing someone like Anthony Davis, who we were building the team around.”
“He was our foundation. He brought us a championship. And you wonder, how are they going to react? So you have to weigh all of those considerations. At the end of the day, we did what we felt was best for our team, and they obviously agreed with what they received.”
“And when people say, ‘Well, they only talked to you,’ or, ‘They only talked to a couple of teams,’ we had the piece that they wanted. They wanted Anthony Davis. That’s why they weren’t shopping it around.”
“They saw what they wanted, and they came after it. And we had to get through that decision process because we hadn’t even considered that before.”
One of the biggest narratives surrounding the Lakers for years has been the idea that LeBron James runs the franchise, often called “LeGM” for his perceived influence over roster decisions.
However, with this trade, many analysts and fans have suggested that Jeanie Buss has firmly taken back control. When asked about that perception, Buss responded:
“I say you can interpret it any way you want. At the end of the day, I’m the governor of the team, which means I’m ultimately responsible for all basketball and business decisions for this team.”
“However you want to read that, people can. But we are always in communication with our captains of the team. In this circumstance, though, AD was one of the captains, so we couldn’t disrupt what was happening.”
“The team was really starting to gel the way JJ has been coaching them, and we really didn’t want to disrupt that if this wasn’t going to be something that happened.”
While she acknowledged that the team always communicates with its key players, she reiterated that in this case, the secrecy was necessary because Davis was one of the captains of the team, and they could not afford to risk locker-room tension before the deal was finalized.
Despite Buss’ confirmation that LeBron was unaware, many skeptics still find it hard to believe that someone as powerful as James would not have known about such a franchise-altering move.
Even Rich Paul, LeBron’s longtime agent, admitted that James was kept in the dark until the time he needed to know. But Anthony Davis was not convinced that nobody knew, saying that he believes at least a few people must have been aware before the news broke.
Additionally, an NBA insider recently claimed that the entire Lakers front office knew about the deal for a month before it happened, making it even more surprising that James was not informed.
With Buss now publicly confirming the secrecy behind the trade, it raises even more questions about how the decision was executed and whether this signals a shift in how the Lakers will operate going forward.
Regardless, the move has already begun paying dividends for Los Angeles, and the LeBron-Doncic era is officially underway.
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