“What happened to Luka Doncic is like the death of Michael Jackson”

Journalists Sam Amick and Josh Robbins conducted their annual anonymous survey of NBA players for The Athletic adding to a total of more than 150 from the thirty franchises.

Everything was on the table: the MVP, the most overrated and underrated players, the best organized and most dysfunctional franchises, the possible changes to the game that the league is studying... Everything... and also the trade of Luka Doncic, of course. The biggest news of this year and one of the most surprising trades in modern NBA history.

And the players were free to talk, of course, even more so with the benefit of anonymity. So Amick and Robbins separated the Luka trade section from the overall survey results. And they divided it into several categories, based on the type of reaction (almost everyone is surprised and criticizes the Mavs). There’s even a section for those in favor of the deal from the Dallas franchise’s perspective... but it only has three individuals backing the move. Here are the highlights of what the players told The Athletic about the trade that got Doncic from the Mavericks to the Lakers:

The absolutely surprised

“I was amazed. I was playing… a fan sitting at courtside told me. It’s one of those things you’ll never forget. Like when Michael Jackson died, like the September 11 attacks. They’re the kind of things that stay with you forever.”

“Fuck, I was stunned. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“I told my girlfriend to turn on ESPN. And I spent the whole time watching TV. It was around 12, I think, midnight. I didn’t go to sleep until 2:30 in the morning. I was like, ‘What the hell?’ I private messaged Charania and asked if her phone had been hacked.”

“Let’s just say it’s one of those things that just doesn’t sink in.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke, that they were messing with me.”

“I didn’t believe it, not for a second. Until I called my agent and he confirmed it.”

“It’s the craziest move I’ve ever seen in a transfer. Like everyone else, I thought it was a joke.”

“I thought it was crazy, that it was fake. No one could have expected something like that.”

“I woke up at 3 or 4 in the morning, saw him, and was like… is this the real Shams? Crazy. And then I started asking why. He’s a young superstar.”

“I thought it was the NBA doing it to boost ratings.”

“Outside of my team, I’m a Mavericks fan. I didn’t even know how to process it, because it happened so fast… It blew my mind. You realize no one is untouchable.”

“I think you had to have balls to do something like that.”

“You realize that in this league, nothing is predictable and you never know what’s going to happen.”

“It’s one of those things that only happens once in a while. In fact, I don’t think anything like that will ever happen again. But it’s definitely the kind of thing that makes stars and franchise players nervous."

The most critical of the Mavericks

“The worst decision in the history of modern basketball. Terrible.”

“It’s psychotic. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t know how they can make sense of it.”

“Blasphemy”.

“Bad deal. Keep him. He’s a generational player.”

“The stupidest idea in history.”

“The worst thing ever done.”

“It wasn’t a smart thing to do.”

“One of the worst decisions I’ve seen in the world of basketball.”

“The craziest trade in basketball history.”

“I think it’s crazy. Idiotic. I would never have done it.”

“I still don’t get it. It’s mind-blowing.”

“It’s stupid. If they traded Luka, they can trade anyone. It shows how weird the NBA runs this league.”

“No one is safe.”

“It was ridiculous, and it’s eye-opening: it’s scary to see the business side of the NBA.”

“The Mavs’ decision? Stupid. The Lakers’ decision? Great.”

What the Mavs received in return

“I couldn’t believe it because if you trade a player like Donic, they have to give you all the kitchen appliances in return. Anthony Davis is a top-75 pick in history and an all-star every year. But they should have asked for several first-round picks, too. And they didn’t, so something’s going on there.”

“Dallas chose a five-year window to compete instead of a ten-year one.”

“I don’t understand it. Doncic is probably the best player in the NBA for the next 15 years. Maybe there was something we didn’t know behind the scenes, but it’s incomprehensible.”

“If the Mavs believe it’s what they had to do, fine. But I would never have traded a player like that, so young. Especially not for what they got in return. They should have tried to get a lot more. I can understand what they wanted to do, but I wouldn’t have done it.”

“It’s stupid. Anthony Davis is top-notch, but you had a franchise player who wouldn’t budge. Stay with him forever.”

“Terrible. Wow, what did they do? Two months ago, I thought the Mavs were going to win the West again. It was terrible, man. I don’t care how you sell it. And the fact that they didn’t get what they needed to get back in return is ridiculous. They turned the whole league upside down.”

The sold narrative about Doncic

“Terrible. And if Doncic comes in and weighs 200 kilos, what does it matter? He’s still going to average a 30-point triple-double.”

“It’s crazy, bewildering. In the end, I guess you have to be in shape, be liked by everyone… all the things they tell you you have to do when the draft comes around.”

“It was a shitty move, but I don’t think it was a bad trade. But everything they did and said was shitty. That’s what the business side of things looks like, and those assholes don’t care about you. It sets an example, like, ‘Why would I do shit for the team if this is how they’re going to treat me?’ A guy comes in, he’s an MVP candidate, All-NBA five out of six years in, and they don’t even tell him anything before doing it. You’re like, ‘That franchise isn’t going to do shit for me, why should I do it for them?’”

“Whatever you say about a player like Luka, you never let him go. You turn the other cheek. There are some players you simply don’t let go. I don’t care about the rest.”

“I don’t understand it. I know what they say about defense, but all players have their strengths and weaknesses. And with Luka, what he does in attack makes up for a lot of what he doesn’t do in defense. So I don’t understand the transfer under any circumstances. I think there were many ways to have gotten him to try harder before pressing that button.”

“Anything can happen in this competition. It’s a business, they don’t care who you are, no one is safe. It doesn’t matter what you do. If you don’t fit their vision at that moment, they’ll discard you as if you were never there. So you can’t put your feelings into this.”

“A lot of people talk about defense, but you don’t trade a generational guy like that. You’re going to find other hungry guys to do the job, and at least one shooter. And I think Jason Kidd is a smart coach; he would have found ways to hide Luka on defense. I think they should have waited until the summer and talked like grown men, and let Luka be the one to hand the decision to the franchise.”

“Terrible, it doesn’t make sense. The team that just played in the Finals, and on top of that, they’re better than a Western Conference opponent… If it had at least been against an Eastern Conference team, they could have said, ‘Well, that’s it, we’re not going to see you anymore.’ But it’s like that… Come on, it’s very strange.”

“Look at it from the Mavs fans’ perspective: They were totally behind him, he was a great representative of the city of Dallas… and they traded him. And you see how great it is that no one talks about a player like Anthony Davis going to the Mavs. But the Lakers are a great place for him. They’ll make a great team for him. Seeing who he is, his personality, he’s going to fit in really well in L.A.”

“The biggest thing since LeBron went from Cleveland to Miami. I have a lot of respect for Anthony Davis, what he did with the Lakers. He won a title there, went through a lot of trouble, LeBron said the team was going to revolve around him now… I thought they were going to make it work with Davis. But you couldn’t have seen a deal like this coming, and done so quietly.”

“Dallas has behaved badly, Mr. Doncic.”

Good for both sides, Lakers and Mavs

“It was good for both sides. The Lakers are two steps better with Doncic, and Davis is going to be a great fit with the Mavs. I don’t think it’s a trade where you can say one side won.”

“The Lakers already have their new star because LeBron is going to retire in a year or two, and Dallas wanted to win now, and they needed another defensive stopper. They already have Kyrie Irving and a lot of small forwards and role players. So I think it’s a win-win for both sides.”

“It’s not a bad thing, it’s just a different understanding of how things are done better. They’ve had success before, so they know how to do things better than we do. If Davis doesn’t get injured, it’s a good thing for both sides."

“If Dallas wants to win now, it’s not a bad move. In the long run, it might be better for the Lakers because of Doncic’s age.”

“I think it has to do with money: they didn’t want to pay him that much. Then everyone got injured, but it wasn’t a bad transfer."

“It’s a win-win in the short term. I think Dallas won the trade in the short term, but then Davis got injured. In the long term, the Lakers win, and with everything that’s happened, they also win in the short term. But to win a title, you have to have someone who can defend. That’s what Dallas was looking for, and we know Luka Doncic can’t be that.”

“I wouldn’t have done it, but that’s the way business is. You get Anthony Davis, and if you think defense is the key to winning, then that’s up to you. The other guy took you to the Finals last season. But that’s up to each individual. It’s good for the NBA that he’s in Los Angeles.”

The (few) who are in favor of the Mavs

“I think it’s a phenomenal decision. I’m all for Nico Harrison; I’m a fan.”

“Thank you. I love it.”

“I wasn’t angry at all about what they did.”

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