Months after the NBA was stunned by the news that the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for a trade package centered around Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler has spoken his mind on the matter in a social media post that has now gone viral. Just like the rest of the league, Butler admitted he was baffled to hear the news.
“I thought it was fake like everybody else. So did you. I don’t even have to ask. You know what I mean? It was like this guy got hacked or something. I just thought when you used the word ‘untradeable,’ ‘untouchable,’ you’d think Luka Doncic is one of those guys, honestly.”
“I don’t know, it doesn’t have too much to do with me, I’m still just, I was baffled by it. I’m still baffled by it. It just doesn’t look right. It’s just… crazy.”
The reporter followed up to ask Butler if he believed there were more details to the story than what the media knows and what meets the eye. Butler essentially guaranteed that either the Mavericks or Doncic is hiding details that the public still doesn’t know about the trade.
“There’s always more to it. Everybody else is always on the outside looking in, so you only know what you read, you only know what you read from socials. You don’t know what was really going on behind closed doors.”
“And everybody’s going to latch onto whatever narrative they want to believe and whatever clickbait is put out there. But there’s always more to these stories. I don’t know, I don’t know, but I can guarantee you there is more, and there’s always a reason behind everything. Do I know the reason? No.”
Butler knows a thing or two when it comes to controversial exits from a team. Years ago, he left the 76ers due to issues with the front office’s decision to extend Tobias Harris over him. Most recently, he left the Heat to join the Warriors due to tension with the front office over his extension once again.
Therefore, Butler knows that in such controversial situations, the public is never given the full details. The Warriors forward nearly found himself in the middle of the Luka Doncic drama back in February as both situations unfolded in the same month.
According to reports, the Mavericks tried to trade for Jimmy Butler when they were looking to shop Luka Doncic, but the talks broke down eventually.
Mavericks reportedly gave numerous reasons for trading Doncic, like issues with his fitness, concerns over his lack of effort on defense, among other reasons. Sources also suggested that the Mavericks did not want to pay Doncic the supermax contract, which could’ve potentially been $345 million when he would have been eligible for an extension after the end of the 2024-25 season.
If Doncic had joined the Heat instead of the Lakers, the Eastern Conference could have become a lot more competitive than it is. But the Lakers’ front office is clearly thanking their stars that Doncic landed with them.
However, the question here always remains: is there something major that either of the two parties is not telling us? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
