Luka Doncic Rumors: Shocking Details Of Danny Ainge’s Knowledge Of Trade

The Luka Doncic trade came out of nowhere, and the Mavericks tried to maintain a high-level of secrecy.

Dallas traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team trade that sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick to the Mavericks. LA received Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris along with Doncic, and the Utah Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.

After the shock of the Mavs trading away their 25-year-old superstar, NBA fans were perplexed to see Utah’s involvement in the deal. Former Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge is one of the most savvy front-office people in the league, so seeing the Jazz receive so little in the blockbuster trade was surprising. An ESPN report released Monday revealed why.

“Even the Utah Jazz, the third team that facilitated the transaction by collecting two second-round picks for absorbing Jalen Hood-Schifino, didn’t know Doncic and Davis were a part of the deal until about an hour before it was completed,” league sources told Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon. “Even Jazz president Danny Ainge, who hails from the Lakers’ hated rival, the Boston Celtics, had about only 30 minutes notice, sources said, that Los Angeles was about to acquire Doncic to be the new face of its franchise.

“But by then it was too late to do much about it. NBA history was about to be altered.”

The reported lack of notice Ainge had showed how quickly the Mavericks wanted to make their hasty move. It also highlighted how Dallas didn’t want the idea of it trading away Doncic to leak out.

It’s likely Ainge would have tried to get more for his team in the deal if he had more time to figure out what was going on. But only the Lakers emerged as the winner of the blockbuster deal.