Have the past 24 hours been enough to recover? If it wasn’t enough, no one can blame you. After all, the NBA just witnessed one of its most shocking trades with Luka Doncic heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis will conclude his six-year journey with the LA franchise to join the Dallas Mavericks. But seems like their teammates need to come to terms with it and move on.

Klay Thompson was among those questioned today on Luka Doncic’s Dallas exit after the game against the Cavs. The player himself had ended a 13-year journey in the Bay last year to join the Mavericks. But the difference was—the shift took place as per his choice. Despite this, understands how the NBA world works, and that change is a constant part of it. Therefore, instead of being emotional over someone he didn’t even get to play a full season with, Thompson chose the professional route:

“I wish Luka the best. I mean, it was a joy to play with him in those 22 games we were together. But we’re gonna obviously welcome AD with open arms. One of the best players ever, being top 75. It’s the nature of the business, you have to be professional with all things in front of you. I look forward to keeping the goal the same, and that’s obviously the ‘are you gonna win?’ But it’s just a small part of the NBA.”

Interestingly, on the shock measurement scale, he likened this move to the time when King James joined the Heat!

Similar to Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington got to play only a handful of games with Luka Doncic. Despite this, he honored him as someone close, stating, “It surprised me, for sure. I was shocked. I just wish him the best. Obviously, he’s one of our brothers & we went through the battles & fires with him, so definitely wish the best for him.”

He added, “In this business, it’s part of it. Definitely sucks to see him leave, but excited for him & also excited to get a guy like Anthony Davis and Max Christie, as well. So, excited to see how they fit. And, can’t wait for us to get them here and get going.”

However, from Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo to Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton, several NBA players were in shock at what happened. Fans were equally shocked and comments like “Shams got hacked?” and “April fools right?” were being put out by them on X after reports of the trade went viral.

After first breaking the news on X, Shams Charania himself appeared on SportsNet to confirm its validity. He even highlighted the alleged shock of the central figures of the trade too, stating, “LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m sure Luka Doncic is still stunned about this trade.”

Despite the shock and sadness, the Mavericks and Lakers squad cannot afford to be distracted for long. They are still in the middle of a season. For the Dallas side, the recent 144-101 loss against the Cavaliers was an indication—A telling sign that the squad needs to move on in order to play well in a world without the Slovenian. While holding a 26-24 record, every game counts!

With Luka Doncic’s former teammates having spoken, some would question: What about Mark Cuban? Though he may not be the majority owner anymore, Cuban still has strong ties with the team. As it turned out, it didn’t take too long for him to break his silence.

Mark Cuban reacts to Luka Doncic’s trade after initially promising to choose ‘Divorce over Trade’!

For a period, Mark Cuban was the face of the Dallas Mavericks—The man behind the team’s most strategic decisions. It was under his approval that Kyrie Irving was brought in. His draft analysis helped to form a viewpoint about Luka Doncic. The respect he held for the Jordan Brand athlete once reached a point of bizarreness, when Cuban declared, “If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer’s office prepping for a divorce!” Unfortunately, as a minority owner, he can no longer exercise that level of influence. Therefore, it made sense for such a trade to take place when he wasn’t in power.

NBA reporter, Brad Townsend, recently took to X to reveal that he had asked Mark Cuban for his reaction to the trade of Luka Doncic. The former majority owner only had one word, four letters to say: “MFFL”. This translates to “Mavericks fan for life”.

Is Cuban indicating that he’s choosing to put the team ahead? This response came hours after he confirmed to the WFAA in Dallas that he was NOT involved with the three-team trade deal that sent the Slovenian to the Lakers and AD to the Mavericks.

Marc Stein reported that Luka Doncic was heading toward a 5-year contract extension in July worth $346 million. However, Mavs GM Nico Harrison made the call to abruptly change directions with the astonishing trade sweep. The consequences of this decision will be seen in the NBA for sure, just the extent to which this affects things in LA is something that remains to be seen. What do you think?

Interesting Fact: Had Luka Doncic been able to sign the 346 million contract with Dallas, it would have been the richest contract in NBA history this offseason (a 35% supermax deal). But that deal was only applicable if he stayed with the team and that was a reason he didn’t request a trade. Now that he has been traded to LA, the Lakers can offer five years at 30% of the cap.