🔥 BREAKING: Anthony Davis’ Lakers Feud EXPLODES — Luka Doncic Trade Rumors Ignite Locker Room Drama!.P1

When Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, he harbored a desire to play for the Lakers, not only to team up with LeBron James but also to win a championship. Davis was traded to the Lakers in July 2019, and that pursuit of a title with James began.

About 15 months later, battling through a worldwide pandemic and all, the Lakers could once again call themselves champions of the NBA. It was definitely different given the circumstances of the NBA Bubble in Florida, but in his first season with the Lakers, he won a championship.

All was great in Los Angeles. James and Davis formed a strong bond with one another, and their ties ran deeper than just on the court due to Rich Paul and Klutch Sports. Paul, who has been one of LeBron’s closest friends throughout his career, represents both James and Davis, along with several other notable stars around the league, like Draymond Green, De’Aaron Fox, Brandon Ingram, and others.

Along with a strong bond between Davis, James, and Paul, Klutch Sports and Paul had also formed a strong connection with Lakers executive Rob Pelinka and the organization since James decided to join the Lakers in 2018.

This relationship led to constant communication between the two sides when Davis became available in trade talks in 2019, and it has also led to countless Klutch clients signing with the Lakers through the years. At the same time as all this success was resulting in a title, it was also the start of a clock that would eventually lead to Davis’ departure from Los Angeles five years later.

As great a talent and competitor as Davis is, his injury struggles and availability in Los Angeles were concerning.

From the start of the 2019-20 season to when he was traded in 2025, Davis played in about 71.5 percent of the Lakers’ total games, only eclipsing the 60 games played mark twice in his five and a half years with the franchise.

There was always a level of concern with Davis’ soft-tissue injuries following the team’s championship run in 2020, but the organization pushed forward with the All-Star big man alongside James.

After capturing their last championship in 2020, the Lakers made it out of the opening round of the playoffs just once in 2023, when they advanced to the Western Conference Finals. While Los Angeles’ struggles on the court, and specifically in the postseason, were at the front of everyone’s minds, what was happening behind the scenes ultimately led to the Doncic-Davis trade this past February.

Over the last several months, ClutchPoints has been gathering information from a variety of league and team sources to discover what exactly happened with Davis and the Lakers, a marriage that was destined to end, whether Doncic was on the table or not. Here is what was discovered, starting with secret trade talks involving Davis.

The bright lights of Los Angeles were exactly what Davis wanted as he entered the peak years of his career. As soon as he won a championship with James, the Lakers’ ideology was simple: have Davis lead the team into the future.

Even with LeBron still playing at the highest level possible and performing at an All-NBA level, Davis represented the future of the Lakers.

Originally, the hope in Los Angeles was that it wouldn’t just be Davis by LeBron’s side in the later stages of his career, as Pelinka had dreamed of adding a third superstar to compete for championships during the league’s “Big 3” era. The goal of landing Kawhi Leonard never happened, as he ultimately chose to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Looking back on how this played out, the Lakers dodged a bullet when it came to potentially signing Kawhi. Perhaps it was fate that their pursuit of Leonard in free agency did not work out, as it eventually led to the Davis-Doncic trade.

Years before the coffee shop meeting between Nico Harrison and Pelinka that ultimately led to this groundbreaking trade in 2025, the Lakers constantly challenged Davis and his ability to cement himself as the face of the organization because of injury concerns.

He only played in 36 games the season after winning a championship due to calf and Achilles strains, and then Davis only played in 40 games during the 2021-22 season because of a left MCL sprain and a right ankle sprain. The very next season (2022-23), Davis missed 26 games with a right foot injury.

Throughout these three years, in which Davis was constantly in and out of the lineup as a result of many injuries, internal concerns about the way Davis took care of his body began to loom large, multiple league sources told ClutchPoints. There were points before the 2024-25 season when Davis’ side and his representation would not see eye to eye with how the Lakers wanted to handle his injury recovery and prevention.

In the offseason, Davis wouldn’t always communicate with the Lakers, sources said, and his fitness levels entering training camps were said to be “well below average.”

“There were moments in the preseason where we wondered if he had even worked out at all in the summer,” one team source who was granted anonymity to speak freely said of Davis entering the 2024-25 season. “He would come back, go through warmups, and then either sit out to be with the training staff or basically half-ass what the team was doing.

“When he first got here, that wasn’t the case. He was always wanting to go above and beyond, and he was one of the first in the gym, last out of it. Over the years, that changed, and he almost became content in a way. It was clear he was out of shape and didn’t seem to care what the higher-ups were telling him. Something definitely changed.”

Even before the Davis-Doncic trade became a thought, there was ongoing tension building between Davis’ team and members of the Lakers’ front office, multiple sources said. This rising tension was not only from his injury struggles and conditioning levels not being up to the standard the team wanted, but there were also genuine concerns about how he took care of his body, which directly resulted in some of his injuries.

Serious doubts began to form internally for the Lakers among a small group, some holding front-office roles. Eventually, as this noise grew louder, Pelinka and his inner circle began to take notice.

The strong bond the Lakers and Klutch Sports once shared, with many fans calling the organization the “Klutch Sports Lakers” because of all the clients Paul had with Los Angeles, began to show some cracks.

Multiple Klutch Sports clients had left the Lakers since that 2020 championship run, and many around the NBA began to wonder if this was a result of Paul and James’ influence with the team’s front office. Neither side commented on whether Paul or LeBron impacted the roster decisions being made since Davis was acquired in 2019.

But the answer seemed all too obvious, with the team becoming discouraged by Davis’ side and his willingness to fully commit to what the Lakers wanted of him. Between worries about Davis’ offseason conditioning, commitment, and ability to become the “alpha” of the team once LeBron was ready to move on, Pelinka and the Lakers began making calls to some teams in December 2024, multiple sources said.

Minor conversations were held between Pelinka, other team front-office personnel, and rival teams around the league. Davis was the topic at hand. Although Pelinka and the Lakers as a whole didn’t hold virtually any desire to trade Davis, they began reaching out to some teams about Davis’ value and the possibility of putting him on the trade block in the summer after the 2024-25 season ended.

Initially, other organizations didn’t think much of the Lakers presenting Davis’ name in conversations, and the belief was that it was nothing more than a ploy by Los Angeles to try and pull a fast one on them. In fact, one source from an Eastern Conference team who was present for these conversations about Davis and the Lakers claimed they were “laughable” at first because they didn’t believe for a second that Davis was truly available.

“When AD (Anthony Davis) was the name that came up, we all kind of looked at each other like, ‘Yeah, okay.’ But the conversation was actually serious, and things began shifting to the point where they were seriously wanting to know whether we would be interested. That’s as far as it got. We kept all of it in-house to make sure that opportunity didn’t disappear, whether it be at the deadline or in the offseason.

“Little did we know, they did the same thing with Nico and the Mavs, and obviously nobody was going to beat a Luka deal.”

Of the teams that the Lakers spoke with when they were first putting out feelers for Davis, the Boston Celtics held a couple of calls with Los Angeles, sources said. Nothing ever progressed to where there was any actual momentum, but Los Angeles was receiving signals that Brad Stevens and his front office were receptive to the idea.

The five-word message the Lakers got back from Boston was enough to let them know they would consider such a move in the summer: “We’ll keep it in mind.” It is worth noting that the Celtics were next to the Lakers in terms of pursuing Davis when he was traded from the Pelicans in 2019.

Before Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the playoffs, the Celtics were already signaling that they were going to cut costs in the offseason. This still could have been achieved by trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, both of whom were dealt in the summer, along with other assets in a big deal for Davis. It was certainly something for the Celtics to consider.

Two other Eastern Conference teams were also intrigued by the Lakers bringing up Davis’ name. These organizations were the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, multiple sources said. Of course, the Lakers were simply putting out feelers for Davis and still didn’t have interest in trading him during the 2024-25 season, but Los Angeles was serious about putting together real trade packages in the offseason.

While other teams were rumored to have spoken with the Lakers about Davis in December 2024, these organizations would not be confirmed by either side. Still, there were at least five teams that held dialogue with the Lakers more than once after Los Angeles’ initial feeler to discuss Davis and minor details regarding his status.

Interest from the Lakers’ side in terms of gauging interest in Davis was very real, and the possibility of moving on from the multi-time All-Star big man during the offseason grew more with every conversation they held around the league.

The idea of trading Davis, aside from concerns about commitment to becoming the face of the franchise, was due to uncertainty surrounding LeBron possibly opting out. If James were to leave and the Lakers traded Davis, the idea was that they could instantly set themselves up for a soft rebuild to bring in assets and make a push for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo or a young, emerging superstar.

Coincidentally enough, Luka Doncic was right next to stars like Giannis and Nikola Jokic in terms of being a player the Lakers planned on targeting in the upcoming free agency periods, sources said. Doncic was clearly a player Pelinka and the Lakers were prepared to make a push for in life after Davis and LeBron, but they believed his commitment to Dallas would never waver.

That didn’t matter, though, as Harrison was not committed to Doncic whatsoever, leading to multiple conversations that only he, Pelinka, Jeanie Buss, and Patrick Dumont originally knew about. It was then that all prior conversations about trading Davis in the summer went out the door, and the right momentum to trade him became right then and there… for Luka Doncic.

The “last straw” that led to the Luka Doncic trade

When the 2023-24 season ended, the Lakers held various meetings with their personnel and players. Among the topics at hand was replacing head coach Darvin Ham, who led the team to a 90-74 record, a trip to the 2023 Western Conference Finals, and a win in the league’s first NBA Cup championship.

James, Davis, and other players met with the Lakers’ brass to discuss the direction of the franchise after firing Ham, and AD held direct conversations with Pelinka about the hiring process, which led to JJ Redick being named the new head coach. At the same time, Davis’ conversation between his team and the organization also revolved around keeping him fresh and finding more frontcourt depth.

Davis and his camp held a meeting with the Lakers before the 2024 offseason was in full swing, sources said, to stress the importance of him having more help, specifically at the center position. It was clear that Davis’ demands were to play fewer minutes at center and for the team to leverage assets in order to bring in another experienced center who could directly impact their championship pursuit.

From the point of view of Davis’ camp, the idea of making such a move was to preserve his overall body health, as wear and tear had resulted in several of his soft tissue injuries through the years. This wasn’t seen as a necessity from the Lakers’ point of view, as their focus was on preserving future assets and maintaining cap flexibility for 2025, with LeBron owning a player option.

Los Angeles did not completely shut the door on pursuing more frontcourt help, as they attempted to do so multiple times before the 2025 trade deadline, but this was not viewed as a core need of the franchise. Instead, more focus was on Austin Reaves emerging as the third key talent alongside James and Davis.

This decision to continue having Davis play heavy minutes with virtually no frontcourt help did not sit well with his camp, creating more friction and tension leading into the 2024-25 season, sources said.

“Showing up after the Olympics, AD looked the best we could’ve asked for,” a different team source, who was also granted anonymity, told ClutchPoints. “He was definitely fresher than in previous years, and that showed with his start to the year. Energy was good, and he bought into JJ’s plans. After those (NBA) Cup games, that’s when we started hearing more from AD’s side about him being tired and needing help.

“That narrative was constantly being pushed, and it never went away. It’s hard to describe, but there was just this weird energy when you’d see him talking with Rob, JJ, and others about it. Honestly, the idea of wanting to add another center seemed more forced from an external factor than from AD himself, because he was always fine at practice. There were never any direct complaints inside the facility.”

Rich Paul and Pelinka have always shared an easy relationship with one another, especially given the Lakers executive’s past as an agent himself. Their conversations have always been fluid, and it never appeared any animosity was brewing between the two parties.

However, the internal tension growing as a result of Davis’ demands and the fear of him no longer being the future of the organization in a post-LeBron James era was kept within the walls of the Lakers’ facility. At no point did Pelinka or anyone else tell Paul about these concerns, nor was he informed about trade discussions happening.

The Lakers began the 2024-25 season, and everyone was on the same page about competing for a championship. James and Davis were happy to have Redick as their coach, and his ability to relate to his roster as a recently retired player himself who spent 15 years in the NBA facing off with his stars earned Redick immediate respect.