The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. The trade seemingly came out of nowhere. And that was true for both fans and people who were closely connected to the situation.
Videos by FanBuzz
Multiple reports confirmed that neither Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis or LeBron James were informed about the deal until it was finalized by both parties. After the trade was official, Doncic texted his now former Mavericks teammates, bidding them adieu while simutaneously expressing his gratitude.
Luka Doncic’s text to the Mavericks team group chat after being dealt to LA:
“Thanks for everything.” pic.twitter.com/RLOVfdaRaB
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 2, 2025
Former Nets Guard Gets Candid on Mavericks' Kyrie Irving
After his decision to not get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Nets sidelined Kyrie Irving at the beginning of the 2021-22 season. The team reinstated him the following January after injuries on their roster became a factor. Still, Irving could not play games at Barclays Center for most of the season and ended up playing just 29 games overall.
His decision to remain unvaccinated was met with harsh criticism. However, former Nets guard David Duke Jr. said he believed the criticism Irving received was unwarranted.
"I feel that all the hate he gets, all the scrutiny, like all the criticism is as if he is not a human being as well, you know what I mean like if your best friend says they don't get vaccinated, you're not going to go and call them everything in the book cause they don't wanna get vaccinated," Duke said during an appearance on the "Club Ambition" podcast in 2022.
"Just because he doesn't wanna get the vaccine or he wants to stand on a belief, I don't believe he should be criticized at all. I love Ky. He's one of the best human beings, and just that I know he stands on what he believes in and [is] super, like, humble. He's very welcoming. He's a nice dude, like, I don't have any complaints about him."
