Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James reportedly sent the news of the Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis trade to the team in the group chat last year. The news broke on the night of Feb. 2, in the lead-up to the NBA trade deadline.
The trade came without any warning or prior reporting; instead, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news in a post on X.
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According to author Yaron Weitzman’s book “A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers,” James was the first to send Charania’s post in the Lakers’ group chat between the players.
Anthony Davis responded to the news by saying, “Did (the lakers) just trade me?”
Bronny’s father, LeBron, replied, “WTF?” while Austin Reaves said, “Ok guys, AD is bulls—ing with us.”
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According to reporting from team insider Dave McMenamin, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka agreed to the deal with the Dallas Mavericks and then had a joint call with Davis and head coach J.J. Redick to inform everyone about the move.
Then, Pelinka informed Davis’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, and finally, he called LeBron James about the deal.
The deal was struck with direct negotiations between Pelinka and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison. The conversations were held privately, and no other teams were involved in the trade.
The private nature of the deal allowed it to happen suddenly, as both parties were concerned about the trade falling through once the players were informed or the league caught wind of it.
Ultimately, the franchises swapped superstars in a deal that shocked the NBA to its core, and the Lakers’ players appeared to have found out about it through Bronny James’ message.
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