Anthony Davis on Luka Dončić trade: ‘I had no idea this was happening’

Count Anthony Davis as one of the many people who were confused on the night of Feb. 1, 2025, when word began to circulate that he’d been traded for Luka Dončić.

In an episode of “The Draymond Green Show” that went live Wednesday, Davis went into detail about the night he found out his time with the Los Angeles Lakers was over.

Davis said that his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, was the first person to tell him he was being moved.

“I said, who the f— they gonna trade me for? Luka?” Davis said. “I was like, ‘Who else could you trade me for on that team?’”

It turned out: yes. Only eight months removed from making the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks were trading Dončić to the Lakers for Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

While Davis was on the phone with Paul, then-Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison called. Davis answered.

“I told you I was going to come get you one day. I wanted you,” Harrison told him, according to Davis’ recollection.

“Huh?” Davis said.

AD reenacting his phone call w Nico Harrison

I AM DYING 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/PoLcO3Ckx3

— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) April 8, 2026

Davis and Dončić were both out with injuries at the time of the trade. Davis was recovering from an abdominal strain, while Dončić was on the mend from a left calf strain.

Davis made his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8, 2025. He suffered a left adductor strain in his first game in Dallas — the first of four separate injuries he dealt with in his year-long stint with the Mavericks, which came to an end when he was traded to the Washington Wizards in February.

In his conversation with Green, Davis said that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid called him shortly before the news broke that the Lakers were trading him. When the news went public at 11:12 p.m. CT on social media, Davis’ phone blew up. The magnitude of it left him in disbelief.

“I had no idea this was happening,” Davis said. “And I couldn’t make sense of it. … From a business standpoint, I can’t be mad. But why? It just caught me off guard.”

Dončić was just as surprised as Davis. Dončić had a look of disbelief on his face when the Lakers formally introduced him at their practice facility days after the trade.

Dončić led the Lakers to the playoffs last spring, but they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. This past offseason, Dončić shed weight and was an MVP candidate before he went down with a left hamstring injury last week in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Davis has played in 20 games this season. He has been out since January with a left hand injury. Davis said on Green’s podcast that he wishes the Lakers had treated him with more “respect” toward the end of his nearly six-year run in Los Angeles. Alongside LeBron James, Davis helped deliver a championship in 2020.

“I still think I deserved much more respect than that,” Davis said. “All the time I’ve been here. S—, I was there six years. We won a championship. All this stuff, and I can’t get a phone call or a text of, ‘This is what we’re thinking.’”

Davis’ appearance on Green’s podcast can be heard here.