Klutch Sports' Rich Paul breaks silence on Anthony Davis trade to Mavs

Rich Paul gets brutally honest about the controversial Anthony Davis trade to the Dallas Mavericks.

Klutch Sports Group founder Rich Paul revealed that he was unaware the Los Angeles Lakers would trade his client, Anthony Davis, to the Dallas Mavericks. He admits that had he known, the deal may not have gone down.

Paul appeared on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast to share his thoughts on the Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade. He admits that he was as shocked as most about the blockbuster deal. However, the 44-year-old admitted that there was a part of it that didn’t surprise him.

"I always knew the affinity that was [sic] for A.D. from Nico’s [Harrison] perspective. So the destination wasn’t really a shock. The timing of it was a shock and who was involved was a shock. But you don’t move mountains with everybody knowing. You can’t. So I’m glad I didn’t know... It probably wouldn’t have happened if you did know."

Rich Paul

AD gave Mavs a glimpse of things to come

As shocking as it was, the deal is done and over. Both Davis and Doncic have already played for their new teams, providing a glimpse of things to come. On one end is Davis who debuted in a Mavericks uniform in early February. He finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks as Dallas brought down the Houston Rockets, 116-105.

That performance made the top pick of the 2012 Draft the first player to register 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists in the play-by-play era. Further, he is the third Mavs player to do it. The others were coincidentally Doncic (twice) and Michael Finley.

Unfortunately, the Mavs will have to play without him for a while. The 10-time All-Star suffered a left adductor strain and will be out for multiple weeks. That injury forced Davis out of the recent All-Star Game.

Luka Doncic looked good in Purple and Gold

Doncic likewise made a good account of himself even if he was on restricted minutes in the Lakers’ win over the Utah Jazz, 132-113. The 2019 Rookie of the Year debuted with 14 points and four assists in 23 minutes of playing time.

Beyond the stats, it was the Slovenian’s connection with LeBron James that was important. In Doncic, Bron can now look forward to good passes in games.

Doncic’s debut was stellar. However, it remains to be seen if the Luka-LeBron connection will blossom further. Although Bron and A.D. may no longer be teammates, Paul isn’t fretting he was kept in the dark. Davis had a great first game with the Mavs so it will be interesting how he can follow this up (once he is cleared to resume playing).

As for James, Doncic’s coming relieves him of some pressure in carrying the Lakers to wins. As of this writing, he remains on minutes restriction coming off a left calf strain. But according to head coach J.J. Reddick, that could be lifted after their game against the Charlotte Hornets.