With the basketball world still processing the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade, Davis says that he just wants to keep moving forward.
The new Dallas Mavericks forward spoke to the Los Angeles Times after Tuesday’s emotional game between the Mavericks and the Lakers — the first meeting between the two teams since the trade. While Dončić got his revenge by dropping a triple-double, Davis sat on the bench, sidelined with an adductor injury, and watched a tribute video set up by the Lakers.
“If I was playing, it would have been a little bit more emotional for me,” Davis told the L.A. Times. “I think that it was really dope for the Lakers to do, obviously, and I’m honored and appreciative, for them even considering to do that for me.”
Davis told the L.A. Times that he processed the trade quickly, understanding that it was “the nature of the business.” But even now, Davis said he’s unsure of exactly how everything went down.
“The front office has to do what it has to do and obviously they’re going to do what’s best for the organization. So I don’t know if I ever got the ‘real’ about any of it. I don’t know what’s true or what’s not, coming from upstairs,” Davis said. “Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other s***. I just don’t believe it.”
Still, Davis said that he’s ready to move on and focus on his career with Dallas.
“They wanted who they wanted. They did what they had to do,” Davis said. “I don’t know if they had to, but it’s what they wanted to do. I moved on. I got a wife and kids to worry about, you know what I’m saying? And I’m figuring out how I’m going to get them to Dallas and get adjusted to that.
“It’s over with, and I’m moving on with my new team and what we got going on.”
Davis made his debut for the Mavericks earlier this month, hitting 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks before exiting the game early with the adductor injury.
Ahead of the game, Dallas fans outside the arena were expressing their discontent with the Dončić trade and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison. But inside the stadium, they were far more supportive of Davis, giving the 31-year-old big man a standing ovation when his name was announced in the starting lineup.
“I just wanted to be a guy that they can rely on, a guy that’s gonna bring energy and kind of reassure them like, ‘Yeah, I understand who we got rid of,’ but also want to give the fans hope, and I think I did that,” Davis told the L.A. Times.
“Obviously the unfortunate injury, but in that time that they saw me they realized how good we can be when we’re fully healthy,” he added. “We’re gonna get back to that. So, there’s a lot of emotions involved just from the Dallas standpoint of me wanting to show the team why Nico did what he did.”
