Lakers owner Jeanie Buss has made her first public comments about the blockbuster Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade that shocked the world.
“Luka is a very special player,” Buss said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Netflix’s Running Point. “We’re thrilled to have him as part of the Laker team, but we had to give up a lot to get him. And we’re going to miss Anthony Davis and Max Christie.”
Buss admitted that while she was sad to let Davis and Max Christie go, the ultimate goal is to get your team in the best position possible to try and win a championship.
“And we’re going to miss Anthony Davis and Max Christie,” Buss said. ‘It’s like you’re always trying to improve the team, get a little bit better and ultimately win a championship.”
At the time of Luka’s introductory press conference, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka shared how excited Buss was about the trade.
“And when the concept was initially introduced to us, it was, hey, the only way we can even have these discussions was if it’s between owner and GMs. And there was a commitment to that,” Pelinka said. “And if we broke that commitment by talking to anyone else, this day would never happen. I think trust was at the center of all those discussions.
“And I called Jeanie after the coffee in Dallas and brought her in immediately, as I do with everything. Her and I have a really strong working relationship, and the fabric of that is that we share things in real time. And she was extraordinarily excited and hopeful that we could get to the end, which we were able to do.”
The last time the Lakers won the championship was in the 2020 bubble season, and with LeBron’s time in the league running out, there’s no time like the present.
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