When Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis stole the trade limelight, a lot happened in parallel, away from the public glare. Lakers got busy with Luka, and silently someone slipped under the radar. Everyone forgot about the part of the deal that sent Max Christie to Texas. The same Max Christie who was ‘one for the future’ to the Lakers fans and franchise. With his return to face some familiar faces just hours away, Christie opened up about his feelings that were swept under the rug amid all the conversation about Doncic and Anthony Davis. And it won’t be a far-fetched theory to say Max isn’t coming back for revenge.

The stage is pretty much ready. All the actors in the ‘Luka Doncic vs Mavericks’ play are almost ready to take to the Crypto.com Arena. The plot of this drama could easily put any Hollywood project to shame, with everyone on the edge of their seats to see how the script will play out. But just like any successful act, this one too, will need its supporting cast to bring their A-Game. Max Christie certainly intends to do so, but without any malice.

“I’m not even looking at this game as a ‘revenge game,'” Christie told Marc J Spears. “I’m actually looking forward to it from a sense that I get to see old teammates, old colleagues, old coaches… I want to win, obviously. The Lakers are a playoff team. They’re really, really good. It’s a good test for us as a matchup, as a team as well.” That will probably ease some of Rob Pelinka and JJ R.’s worries if they had one to begin with. After all, Rob and JJ were the ones to break the trade news to the 23-year-old guard, who was having everything going his way in LA. But what happened that night?

When the phone rang on the night of Feb 1, Christie instantly understood what it was about. After getting the confirmation regarding the trade, the said call with Rob and JJ kept Christie up till 8:15 AM. 15 minutes later, he was on a plane to Dallas with “denial” in his heart. However, time heals everything and so it did.

“But I’m not going in there with any bad blood or any intention of trying to drop 40 on them… I’m not going to go out there and force 25 shots. That’s not what this game is about. That’s not what I’m about,” Christie further added in the interview with Andscape. All he wants is to enjoy the game in a familiar territory.

But was he this strong initially? No, Christie had to make a long mental journey to reach this point. “If you look at the magnitude of that trade, it magnifies that emotion. So, I was shocked, man. I was on the floor in the hotel room for two hours just thinking about what was going on. I eventually came to my senses, obviously, and had to put one foot in front of the other and think about what I needed to do next,” Christie said, about his mental struggle in the trade’s aftermath. But whatever he does next, his former coach and forever advocate, JJ will be invested in following closely.

LA coach JJ is invested in Max Christie’s journey

JJ has been a preacher of youth excellence since he stepped in through the door. Being a rookie coach, with detractors in plenty, the 40-year-old is a firm believer in opportunity. He passed that on to the next person available and the Lakers youngsters were the ones benefiting. Max Christie was one of those, and not many would argue about him making good on the chance given.

Before Christie’s return to LA in a new color, JJ. made sure to let everyone know how much of a high regard he holds the shooting guard in.

“Max, since the day I took the job, was someone that I was very high on,” the Lakers coach said ahead of the game. “Max and Jalen (Hood-Scifino) were with us in Summer League and just feel very invested for the rest of my life in the rest of his career.” In the 46 Lakers game before his trade, Christie played 25.1 minutes on average, scoring 8.5 points as a solid rotation option. Having Austin Reaves ahead in the Lakers didn’t help Christie’s cause as a breakout star and JJ acknowledged it.

“He has a lot of freedom in Dallas that frankly he didn’t have here. At some point he would’ve had it here, but really happy to see him succeeding,” the player-turned-coach concluded. Since his move to the Mavs, Christie’s numbers have almost doubled to 15.2 points per game thanks to the 7.5-minute increase in game time. Considering the injury crisis in Dallas, those minutes will continue for the foreseeable future. Christie isn’t hoping to drop 40 points on the Lakers, but the NBA doesn’t cease to amaze in some shape or form.