The Athletic polled over 150 NBA players around the league across all 30 teams to get their thoughts on the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade.
One player was very surprised that Dallas only ended up with Davis after shipping off one of the brightest young talents in the league.
“I was in disbelief because if you’re trading a guy like Luka Doncic, you get the entire kitchen sink back,” he told The Athletic. “I mean, obviously with Anthony Davis, let’s not act like he’s not a top-75 player and perennial All-Star and an All-NBA guy himself. But you would imagine there would be several first-round picks attached to that, and there wasn’t, so something is going on there.”
Another anonymous player gave Davis his flowers but admitted that Luka will be leading the league for many years to come, so was puzzled.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “I think Doncic is probably the best player in the league for the next 15 years. Maybe there was something behind the scenes we didn’t know about, but I didn’t understand it. At the same time, getting Anthony Davis back is not like any slouch. He’s obviously a star in this league. So superstar for superstar. But I didn’t really understand the trade.”
Yet another player got super candid about the whole ripple effect the trade has, and will continue to have, on the NBA.
“Terrible,” he said. “Wow. Like, what did they do? I thought (the Mavs) were gonna come out of the West again two months ago. That was terrible, man. I don’t care how you slice it. To not get back what they should’ve gotten back is ridiculous. Messed the league up.”
The impact of the trade will likely be felt for a long time, by players, fans, and NBA staff alike.
