LA Lakers president Jeanie Buss caused a little backlash with her comments on Anthony Davis.
Speaking for the first time since the Luka Doncic trade, Jeanie Buss expressed her excitement at being able to get a deal done for a player the LA Lakers had assumed was out of reach.
Nico Harrison’s meeting with Rob Pelinka changed everything, and a deal was struck to bring the Slovenian to LA, with Anthony Davis and Max Christie moving in the opposite direction.
Buss went on to express comments in a later interview, where she said Davis was ‘complaining about where he was being played and he wasn’t happy’, with regard to his desire to play at power forward instead of center.
Her comments were made with the right intentions, explaining how he hoped the trade could actually please all parties.
But there were some critical words aimed in her direction too, with Kendrick Perkins offering a rebuttal on ESPN, while Stephen A. Smith was adamant the real reason Davis was traded was purely because of the opportunity to land Luka Doncic.
Speaking on First Things First, Chris Broussard broke down how Anthony Davis should be thankful for Jeanie Buss’ comments.
He pointed out how Buss’ comments gives Davis an ‘out’, distracting from the fact he was a tradeable chip used to gain a more valuable asset in Luka Doncic.
Broussard said: “I don’t think this was her intention [to take a shot at AD]. She’s complimenting him because she’s making it look like we only traded AD because he was unhappy and he didn’t want to play center.
“Because the fact of the matter is this, AD could have been as happy as a clam. Every day after every game, AD could have given a soliloquy about ‘how I am so fortunate and so excited about being a Lakers center’, following in the likes of Chamberlain and Jabbar and Shaq.
“He could have played 82 games and he’s never had an injury… and they still would have traded him because Luka Doncic is better. There’s no doubt.”
Broussard added: “So AD should lean into this. AD should be like, Yeah, I love LeBron. That’s my guy, I love the Lakers. I ain’t want to play center anymore, and I let it be known.. lean into it.
“The truth is, Anthony Davis ain’t as good as Luka.”
Not quite as good as Luka Doncic? Probably. But what is indisputable is that over the past month, when the Dallas Mavericks really needed him, Anthony Davis has not been available.
Davis suffered an injury in his first Mavericks game, with the team criticized for rushing him back too soon after a previous problem.
The Mavericks have gone onto lose Kyrie Irving to a season-ending injury, and the whole situation has turned into a nightmare for GM Nico Harrison, who had the intentions to improve the team in the short-term.
