How Kristaps Porzingis Felt About Ex-Teammate Luka Doncic’s Trade To Lakers
Kristaps Porzingis might’ve been the last person on Earth to discover the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Boston Celtics 7-footer shared an on-par reaction once the blockbuster hit his radar Sunday.
Porzingis claimed he wasn’t aware like everyone else because his phone wasn’t working in the early hours as the Celtics prepared to defeat the Sixers in Philadelphia. The only reason Porzingis came across the news before Doncic officially sported LA’s Gold and Purple threads was because a random civilian filled him in.
“He was like, ‘Yo, you heard about the trade?'” Porzingis said, per The Athletic’s Jay King. “I was like, ‘What happened? Did I get traded?’ And he was like, ‘No, Luka to the Lakers.’ And I was like, ‘Yo, no way.’ Then I got my phone back and read all about it. Honestly, I can’t believe it. I think this is the craziest trade in NBA history. Unbelievable.”
The Lakers traded Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick to Dallas, gaining Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in exchange. The Utah Jazz — the third team to help finalize the swap — acquired Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2025 Los Angeles Clippers second-round selection and a 2025 Mavericks second-round pick.
Six players and three future draft picks removed Doncic, a generational talent, from Dallas and made him LeBron James’ next star teammate.
It’s a trade that’s unprecedented not just according to NBA history, but in sports. Doncic is 25 years old, and in five seasons since joining the Mavericks he’s notched five All-Star appearances and five All-NBA First-Team selections. Sure, the NBA Finals didn’t go well but it was Doncic’s first trip there.
Dallas tried surrounding Doncic with the championship cast needed to put the Mavericks over the edge, but nothing worked. This even included trading for Porzingis in 2019 when the New York Knicks decided it was time to close the door on the “Unicorn” era at Madison Square Garden.
Porzingis spent two-and-a-half seasons as Doncic’s teammate on the Mavericks, shocking the NBA in their own right at the time when the news broke. Dallas had a tandem that on paper was poised for deep playoff runs each season but together, Porzingis and Doncic never made it past the first round and were eliminated by the Clippers twice.
To Porzingis’ recollection, the two just never meshed in Dallas — as simple as it sounds.
“I could’ve done some things better and it didn’t come up the way like all of us envisioned maybe, but I definitely learned a lot from that (experience),” Porzingis said on “The Young Man and The Three” podcast. “… I think we both tried to make it work. I think maturity, communication on both of our parts should’ve been better.”
That honesty and self-reflection from Porzingis came months before the Celtics seized Banner 18 and cued the duck boats in Boston.
Porzingis demonstrated those learning lessons as soon as the Celtics executed their three-team blockbuster with the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards to bring Porzingis to Boston. Instead of worrying about balancing the top-dog role with Doncic, Porzingis needed to buy into Boston’s star-studded lineup and work alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
Perhaps it’s now up to Doncic to undergo a learning experience of his own. He’ll have a four-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer to lean on in Los Angeles before the Lakers (likely) hand the franchise keys over to Doncic.
Self-reflection turned Porzingis into a champion so now we’ll see what the wake-up call of getting traded away from Dallas will help Doncic become.