One of the most shocking trades in NBA history was confirmed late Saturday night, with the Dallas Mavericks sending superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, with several other pieces and parties involved.
Across the NBA world, people struggled to comprehend the blockbuster deal, with some going as far as believing that ESPN scoop-master Shams Charania had been hacked.
NBA players seemed to take just as long to process the news, with the Portland Trail Blazers bench reacting the exact same way as many of us at home did—staring at a phone with their jaws on the floor.
On the opposing bench, Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant was also stunned by the news.
Kevin Durant was in DISBELIEF seeing the news of the trade…The NBA is insane.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 2, 2025
(h/t @adryanashton)
pic.twitter.com/ASFBAAYmPW
“Insane. It’s crazy, crazy,” Durant told reporters after Saturday night’s win over the Blazers. “I would have never thought Luka Doncic would get traded at his age, mid-season. The NBA is a wild place. If he can get traded, anyone is up for grabs.”
Durant is no stranger to blockbuster moves—his decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors years ago might be the closest thing we’ve seen to yesterday’s trade in terms of shocking developments in modern professional basketball. But, Durant also saw the trade as an example of the difficult realities of NBA stardom.
"Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program, but the organizations don't get held to that same standard from the outside world, either from media members or fans,” Durant said. “We all should be held to that standard. It’s a transactional game, there’s a lot of money involved. A lot of business involved. We shouldn’t be too shocked about trades, guys moving to different teams, coaches moving to different teams. It’s just the nature of playing basketball and us making this much money.”
"Insane. It's crazy, crazy."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 2, 2025
Kevin Durant on mega Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade.
"Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program but the organizations don't get held to that same standard from the outside."
On teams following suit before Feb.… pic.twitter.com/DekP4eRN6N
Durant’s acknowledgement of the inequity between the loyalty expected from players and organizations echoed a similar point that had been made by Durant’s former head coach, Steve Kerr, who opened up about the realities of the trade deadline the night before Saturday’s massive trade.
“I think the hardest thing for the players is that we ask them to be loyal, and to give everything they have for the group, for the team. That’s the job,” Kerr said. “But then, they might get shipped out. It’s a really hard thing to reconcile as a player. But players have to reconcile if they want to be productive and useful in their NBA careers.”
Durant went on to say that the trade might prompt more massive deals to come from other teams in the near future.
"You start seeing stuff like that, as an organization, you might get a little more courage to do some stuff,” Durant said. “This got to be the biggest trade I've seen since I've been in the league or since I've been watching the sport. This is insane. So yeah, every other team might get confidence and say f--- it, I'll trade a few of my top players if this ain't working."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Says Luka-AD Trade Highlights ‘Different Standard of Loyalty’ Between Players and Teams.
