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Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry chimed in Monday night regarding the blockbuster trade that shook the NBA to its core Saturday.
When asked by reporters for his thoughts on the trade that sent guard Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Curry said: “It’s a reminder that there are only a few in this league that can go to sleep with any type of confidence that you’ll still be there. It’s kind of a really unique situation across the board. The idea that it happened in silence is pretty crazy.”
Prior to ESPN’s Shams Charania breaking news of the trade on Saturday night, there hadn’t been any rumors out there regarding a potential Dončić trade.
Dončić is a 25-year-old superstar who just last season led the NBA with 33.9 points per game, finished third in the NBA MVP voting and took the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.
He has been out of action since December due to a calf injury, but the five-time All-Star has still been highly productive when healthy this season, averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 3.4 three-pointers made and 2.0 steals per game.
The trade gives Dallas’ roster a bit more diversity since Davis can be an interior complement to guard Kyrie Irving’s outside game, but given that Davis will turn 32 in March, the deal likely shortens the Mavs’ championship window.
The opposite is true for the Lakers, who now have two ball-dominant players in Dončić and LeBron James.
It is unclear how well they will mesh together, but even if trading Davis for Dončić does not pay immediate dividends, it is easy to understand why Los Angeles made the move from a long-term perspective.
Had the Lakers moved forward with a core of James and Davis, they likely would have needed to reset the roster upon James retirement.
Now, provided Dončić signs a long-term extension with the Lakers, the organization will have another superstar ready to take over for LeBron once he steps away.
An argument can be made for the Mavs being better equipped to win this season with Davis and Irving leading the way, although it is far from a certainty given that the Dončić-Irving combo made it to the Finals just last season.
Curry, 36, is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP and arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history, so he may be one of the very few players in the league safe from a shock trade.
In fact, Curry and James may be the only two players in that category, although not even that is certain on the heels of one of the league’s biggest stars getting traded seemingly from out of nowhere.
