The surprising Luka Doncic trade has sparked all sorts of reactions around the NBA, from people criticizing the Dallas Mavericks for making the move to lauding the Los Angeles Lakers for landing a 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate.
Anthony Edwards offered a different take on the situation, though, after the Minnesota Timberwolves' loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday. He wondered if he could ever get traded in a similar fashion, as he made a plea to Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
"Everybody get informed," Edwards told reporters. "I'm scared. Tim, if you're going to trade me, let me know, dawg. When Luka got traded, anybody is able to get traded."
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The Mavericks' decision to trade Doncic doesn't have much precedent. He's the first player in over 50 years to be traded after leading the league in postseason scoring in the previous season. When you add in what Doncic has accomplished at his age and the fact that he led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season, it's arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history, if not sports history.
Edwards, whose Timberwolves lost to the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals last season, was as stunned as everyone else, expressing sympathy for his fellow star.
"They say that nobody knew about the trade. That's crazy," Edwards said. "At 25 [years old], they traded probably the best scorer in the NBA. And he didn't know about it. There's a lot more digging somebody's gotta do to find out why he got traded. Because you don't just trade him at 25. He just went to the Finals. I feel bad for Luka, man."
To Edwards' point, there was no indication that Doncic was even available to be had until the trade was being finalized late Saturday. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison had approached Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka about possibly trading Doncic to Los Angeles earlier in January, the former told the Dallas Morning News on Saturday.
But while Edwards is among many who are still wondering why the Mavericks made the trade, Harrison provided some rationale when he met with reporters on Sunday. He explained that tough decisions were going to be made this summer when Doncic was set to become eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax extension.
"I feel like we got out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer," Harrison said. "Other teams that were loading up that he was going to be able to decide, make his own decision at some point of whether he wants to be here or not. Whether we want to supermax him or not, or whether he wants to opt out. So, I think we had to take all that into consideration."
Additionally, the Mavericks were equally "as afraid" of Doncic signing the supermax extension than if he didn't sign the deal due to concerns over his conditioning, ESPN reported. Doncic had missed the Mavericks' previous 19 games due to a calf injury before getting traded.
The Timberwolves shouldn't have those same concerns over Edwards. He's played at least 72 games in each of his first four seasons in the league and has missed just one game this season. Edwards, 23, is in the first season of a five-year, $244.6 million extension that lasts through the 2028-29 season.
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