In return to L.A., Anthony Davis recounts ‘all the emotions’ since his shocking trade

About halfway through the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game, Anthony Davis looked up at the video board inside Crypto.com Arena and watched a tribute the Lakers produced for him. He was being recognized by his former team for his 5 ½ years in L.A.

But the reality is the reality — Davis was receiving this homage because he was no longer a Laker, because he had been traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a shocking, late-night blockbuster deal along with Max Christie and a first-round draft pick for generational talent Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.

So, as Davis watched the video, he smiled and waved to the crowd that was giving him a standing ovation, fully enjoying the moment despite the fact he was unable to play in his return because of an adductor strain.

“If I was playing, it would have been a little bit more emotional for me,” Davis told The Times. “Obviously, it was emotional for the time I had here. But the video was fire! The love from the crowd was fire! The ovation was fire!

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“I don’t know. I haven’t processed it. I might have to watch it again. I’m just in the midst of a game. I’m trying to win a basketball game. So, I couldn’t really get a chance to like, really, dissect the video and feel what I wanted to feel. But that’s the first time I had that, and 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.”

It has been 3½ weeks since the trade that rocked the NBA. Davis says he processed it almost immediately and understood it was “the nature of the business.”

Yes, he won a championship for the Lakers alongside LeBron James in 2020. Yes, he was a five-time All-NBA and all-defensive team player. Yes, he was a 10-time All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Still, Davis was moved for another player.

“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 watched the Lakers defeat the Knicks in New York on Feb. 1 from home in Los Angeles while recovering from an abdominal strain and texted teammates to congratulate them. His phone rang about an hour later. It was Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka informing Davis about the trade.

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Davis was in disbelief, totally caught off guard. He FaceTimed James, hoping his friend could share something about what had happened and why.

“When it happened, I honestly didn’t know s—,” Davis recalled while standing in the hallways of Crypto.com Arena following the Lakers’ 107-99 win. “He’s been my running mate for six years … so the first thing I wanted to do was call him. … Obviously, I know there are going to be a lot of political things in the front office when they talk to me.

“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. So, my thing is I’m gonna go to my counterpart who I’ve been running with and see what’s going on, get his reaction and that’s all it was. We had a conversation. That was it.

“Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other s—. I just don’t believe it. But, hey man, I’m past that. I’m ready to move forward with Dallas, try to get a championship there with these guys. First off, getting back on the floor and get ready to compete. All the emotions, that s— lasted that night when it was just a shock.”

After the shock wore off, Davis said he was on a flight Sunday morning to Dallas to take his physical. And on Monday morning, Davis flew to Philadelphia to join his new mates for Dallas’ game against the 76ers.

He talked with Dallas coach Jason Kidd, who had been an assistant for the Lakers when they won the 2020 championship. He talked with Nico Harrison, the Mavericks’ president of basketball operations and general manager who made the trade heard around the world.

There was stress and pressure for all of them to face back in Dallas

, for trading away an international superstar who had just led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season.

When the Mavericks prepared to play their first home game since the trade on Feb. 8, the fans had planned a protest.

Davis was aware, but his main concern was playing in the game and playing up to his standards.

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He came out strong, producing 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. At one point during the first quarter, Davis turned to the crowd and yelled, “I’m here!” during a timeout. The fans gave him a standing ovation.

“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 said.

He played 31 minutes before suffering the adductor injury.

“Obviously the unfortunate injury, but in that time that they saw me they realized how good we can be when we’re fully healthy,” Davis said. “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.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.