After Anthony Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James reacted angrily.
However, this is not because he was caught off guard. He was enraged by CBS’ NBA insider Bill Reiter’s report, which said he had a hand in Davis, his close friend, being traded.
“You a [expletive] lie!!! 🤥🤡” James wrote on X and refuted the report.
“So, due to the nature of this breaking news item, I was unable to reach every source you requested. So Joe [Musso], I’m going to tell you something that was true a year ago, but I believe it is still relevant today,” Reiter reported. “And I recall telling you about this on CBS Sports HQ last year at the trade deadline. Lakers fans were outraged, but there was chatter within the Lakers organization that LeBron James had gotten irritated with Anthony Davis.
“It wasn’t really essential to trade Davis. We clearly did not report that on CBS boards. It was simply, ‘Hey, there’s something to keep an eye on. LeBron is upset with [Davis]. He doesn’t believe it’s working, and that’s because LeBron has very high expectations. You then fast-forward a year. Obviously, the reporting, or rather the information from Lakers sources, was correct.”
Reiter stood by his report.
“Watch the complete video to grasp the context here. “I stand by my reporting,” he commented on X in response to James’ reply.
LeBron James ‘Still Processing’ the Trade
When the deal was finalized, James had just completed a 37-point triple-double in the Lakers’ 128-112 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
He even mentioned how they had to work harder as a team to win without Davis, who is recovering from an abdominal muscle issue.
“There is no way we can compensate for [Davis’] absence,” James told reporters following the Lakers’ victory on Friday, February 1. “There is no way, especially defensively and offensively. He’s our best player, so we all need to figure out how to do a little bit more, which I believe we accomplished tonight.”
Little did he know that it would be the last time he mentioned Davis as a Lakers teammate. A dozen minutes after Friday midnight, Charania announced the most surprising deal in NBA history.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James, along with Dončić and others, were startled.
“LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN,” McMenamin said in an interview with X. “James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said.”
The Lakers see Luka Dončić as the next ‘face of their franchise’.
The Lakers did not pass up the chance to grab James’ heir apparent.
James, 40, is nearing the twilight of his career. The Lakers see Dončić as his successor as the franchise’s face.
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