Lakers-Mavericks trade sends Davis to Dallas, Dončić to Lakers

On the night the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks executed a blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas and Luka Dončić to Los Angeles, players inside the Lakers organization reacted with shock and confusion, according to a new account in Yaron Weitzman’s book. The book describes a flurry of messages in a team group chat on the February evening the deal became public, with rookie guard Bronny James sharing the breaking report, several teammates unsure whether it was real, and LeBron James responding with a three letter message: "WTF."

According to the account, Davis himself joined the chat and asked whether he had just been traded, using an expletive, then wished his teammates well and left the group. The trade, which the book says was kept tightly under wraps by front offices, prompted a strong public backlash in Dallas directed at Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and surprised players on both teams. Weitzman also reports that the two clubs’ executives initially met discretely, meeting for coffee near the Mavericks’ arena as they negotiated the transaction.

The move reshaped the rosters and the season that followed. Davis averaged about 20 points in nine...