Kevin Durant called him “crazy.” Ringer’s founder Bill Simmons said it is “the most shocking trade that I believe in the history of the NBA.” The legend of the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, could only gather an emoji:
The successful agreement to send to the NBA star Luka Doncic to Los Angeles Lakers has inspired a mixture of shock, disgust and confusion, since fans and experts try to digest such a strange movement that many initially did not believe it was real.
The resident scoop of the League, Shams Charania, gave the news just after midnight on Sunday morning. The exchange was so shocking and suddenly that it led to jokes and speculation, even among the NBA players, that Charania’s account had been pirate.
More than an hour later, he had to emphasize that the agreement was: “It is 1000% real,” he published in X.
Later, on Sunday, the Mavericks made him official, welcoming Anthony Davis to the team.
Doncic is among the brightest stars of the NBA, a 25 -year -old young man who has demonstrated the ability to dominate offensively games. Last season he took the Mavericks to the NBA finals along with the Kyrie Irving star guard.
This season, however, it has been something disappointed for the team. The Mavericks feel eighth at the West Conference, and Doncic has come out with a calf injury that has set him aside from Christmas.
But a trade was not on the lips of the most speculative sports experts, much less one in which Dallas received relatively limited compensation. Together with Davis, a 31 -year -old center who has also fought against injuries, Mavericks are receiving a single first round selection. In July, the New York Knicks ceded five first -round draft teams as part of an agreement for Mikal Bridges, a talented player but not someone considered as the type of player who defines the franchise in which Donc has become.
The Field Marshal of the Texas Chiefs and the Marshal of Campo de los Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes, captured how many Mavericks fans feel.
Many NBA players intervened, mostly expressing their shock. “April fools, right?” He published the Knicks Guard, Jalen Brunson, in X. CJ McCollum, of the New Orleans Pelicans, wrote that each NBA player must keep their bags full.
NBA Punditry exploded simulated, with emergency podcasts and YouTube videos published by the dozens. According to the website, a thread on trade in the Reddit community dedicated to the NBA had more than 16,000 comments. In social networks, jokes flowed.
As often happens after large trades, several reports on the circumstances of the teams and players involved began to emerge, with the Supersart of the Lakers, LeBron James, spinning colored to an claim that he had a fall with Davis. Dave Mcmenamin, NBA reporter for ESPN, said its sources told him that James was not aware of the agreement in advance (NBC News has not verified that report of reports).
As for Dallas’s reasoning, the general manager of the team, Nico Harrison, told ESPN that “the defense wins championships”, and that Davis’s addition will make the team stronger in general (Doncic has been the subject of some criticism for his defense).
That has done little to moderate the shock and general disbelief that has waved in the NBA universe, perhaps better summarized by Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, who is almost never lost by words:
