With Anthony Davis no longer part of the Los Angeles Lakers and his partnership with LeBron James coming to an end after more than five years following his trade to the Dallas Mavericks, the basketball world is left to reflect on the shift. Carmelo Anthony, a former Lakers star, has now weighed in on what he believes to be the key elements of the situation.
“I just don’t think he knew,” Anthony said during an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, commenting on LeBron James’ involvement in the trade between the Lakers and the Mavericks. “Bron couldn’t have known. Rich Paul couldn’t know. Nobody else could know.”
To explain his point, Carmelo referenced James’ past experiences during his career. “Think about the move. He was in Miami when Pat (Riley) was making decisions, and he wasn’t bringing him along, letting him know what was going on,” he recalled. “Now you’re in L.A., and you’re at a point in time where, in order to make certain things happen, I can’t put certain people in these situations to actually have influence or mess this up.”
Despite these assertions, Anthony acknowledged that James was likely aware that something was amiss with Davis. “He knew AD was unhappy. He knew AD was unhappy—that’s what he knew,” Carmelo clarified. “I don’t know this as a guarantee, I’m just assuming.”
Carmelo Anthony speculates on why Davis was unhappy
After asserting that Davis was “unhappy” in his final days with the Lakers and that LeBron James had some awareness of his discomfort, Carmelo Anthony speculated on the reasons behind AD’s frustration. He attributed the discontent to the Lakers’ evolving style of play this season.
“Now it’s like, ‘No, we want to play a different way, we want to play faster, we want to put you at the Five,’” Carmelo explained. “So he’s like, ‘Cool, I’ll try.’ But then he was like, ‘No. Let me get back to the Four, it’s a little bit easier.’ He can play the Five, but his natural position is at the Four.”
In Dallas, Davis finds a new role
In Los Angeles, Davis was forced to play center to accommodate the team’s needs. However, his new role with the Dallas Mavericks is looking very different. Head coach Jason Kidd has a capable big man in Daniel Gafford, while awaiting the recovery of Dereck Lively II, who is rehabbing from a stress fracture in his right ankle.
With the center position already secured in Dallas, Davis returns to his natural position at power forward. This change allows him to thrive in a role better suited to his skill set, as proved in his debut against the Houston Rockets. With Kyrie Irving running the show at guard and Klay Thompson adding this talent, the Mavericks could build something exciting in the near future.