Rich Paul admits the Anthony Davis trade was a ‘shock’

The initial reaction most people had to the news of guard Luka Doncic getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and big man Anthony Davis changing teams to the Dallas Mavericks was shock.

Davis and Doncic are two of the best players in the NBA, and forward LeBron James has alleged that he had no prior knowledge of the deal, even if at least one former NBA player doesn’t buy that claim.

Davis’ agent Rich Paul gave his thoughts on the trade in an exclusive interview and echoed the consensus belief that the blockbuster deal came as a surprise.

“It’s been a pretty busy trade deadline for me,” Paul told DLLS Sports. “Had a lot of guys get moved, a lot of it strategically. This one was a shock. And again, the timing of it was a shock, who was involved was a shock, (but) the destination was not a shock, just based upon the relationship. AD has been someone that Nico [Harrison] has coveted since he got the job, so that’s not a shock to me. But where does it rank? It’s right up there, man. I think it was the first trade among All-NBA players. Normally you’re trading All-NBA guys and getting back (young) guys, or getting back a lot of picks and things like that. Very seldom do you see two mountains being moved like that, and obviously AD is 31 and Luka’s 25 so you can understand why on one end, and why people think not on the other. But ultimately, I imagine in the perfect world they would love to have them two play together, if everyone had it the way they wanted, but it doesn’t work like that. It’s OK, it’s a business, and I always tell my guys it’s a business.”

While it’s true that trades featuring All-NBA players are rare, they have actually happened before. This trade marked the third time in league history that reigning All-NBA players were dealt for each other, according to HoopsHype.

Doncic earned a spot on the All-NBA First Team a season ago after he averaged a league-high 33.9 points per game while Davis made the All-NBA Second Team following a dominant campaign with the Lakers.

The notion that Harrison has long coveted Davis partly explains why he was willing to relinquish a player of Doncic’s caliber to acquire him. There’s a lot to like about Davis’ game, as he’s long been a dominant scorer, rebounder and defender in the league.

He was also maybe playing some of his best basketball as a Laker this season before he was moved to the reigning Western Conference champions. Davis averaged 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game in 42 games played with Los Angeles in the 2024-25 regular season.

The Mavericks will mark just the third NBA team Davis has played for since he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he will try to lead Dallas to a championship in his inaugural season with the squad.

Davis has been fortunate enough to play alongside some talented guards over the course of his time in the league, but guard Kyrie Irving will likely be the best teammate he’s ever had at the position. He’s a gifted scorer and playmaker, and it should be fun to watch him and Davis share the floor together in Dallas.