LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shared details about how the team was able to pull off the Luka Doncic trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February. In an era where every big trade seemingly starts with a report, the Lakers did it smoothly, with only a few people with knowledge of the major move they were cooking.
During a conversation with SiriusXM NBA Radio on Thursday, Buss, who became the first female majority owner to win a championship in 2020, said why it was key to keep the trade ultra-protected.
“I have a feeling if it did leak, the trade probably wouldn’t have happened,” Buss said. “For so many different reasons. People working against us that would not want to see that trade happen. So, keeping things under wraps is really, really important.”
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This isn’t the first time Buss noted the importance of keeping this information to her and only a handful of people that she knew wouldn’t leak anything.
She shared details about how Rob Pelinka pulled the strings to complete the move.
“When the talks started, Rob kept me informed. The concern about with any trade and not this trade in particular, but any trade that you do during the season, especially ’cause we were doing wild. We have a first-year head coach and doing a trade is risky and during the season, because it can make you better or blow up everything.”
The Lakers welcomed Doncic with open arms, giving him the keys to the car to lead them on offense but also asking him more commitment on defense. The purple and gold finished the regular season with a 50-32 record and the No. 3 seed, proving that this trade made them even better than they were with Anthony Davis.
After 28 games with the Lakers, Doncic averages 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. The Lakers have a difficult opponent in the first round of the playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Doncic knows them very well after demolishing them in the 2024 Western Conference finals.
Jeanie Buss looked confident in this move, but this hasn’t been the first time she’s highlighted the importance of adding a player like Doncic.
Jeanie Buss said her father would be proud of the Luka Doncic trade
During a February conversation with Dan Woike of the LA Times, Jeanie Buss agreed that her father would have been very proud of the trade she made for one of the best players in the league. Using a poker analogy, she explained she went all-in to get one of the biggest stars in the game for the most popular team in the league.
Doncic and the Lakers are in a privileged position to win it all this season, but the journey won’t be easy.
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Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein
