The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Mon, 10 Feb 2025
Anthony Davis made his Dallas Mavericks debut in the midst of a fan protest. Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni, and Zena Keita react to AD’s debut, the rescinded trade between the Lakers and Hornets, and Jimmy Butler’s perfect fit with the Warrior. Then, the Athletic’s Christian Clark joins the show to discuss the timeline of the Luka Doncic trade, the fan reaction, Anthony Davis’ latest injury, and the comments from Mavericks Governor Patrick DumontHost: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita, Es Baraheni & Christian ClarkExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio Producer: Grayson MoodyRead Christian’s story on AD’s debut: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6123613/2025/02/08/anthony-davis-mavericks-max-christie-luka-doncic/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What happened during Anthony Davis' debut?
Good morning, everybody. Quick addendum to the show. Anthony Davis is going to miss a little bit of time with his injury that he suffered in his debut. You're going to hear us talk about it a little bit. And we weren't sure when he was going to be back. We got news late on Sunday that he was going to miss multiple weeks with an adductor strand. So keep that in mind when you listen to the show.
But still a lot of good reporting from Christian Clark on the ground in Dallas. So here's the show. Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we have a rescinded trade. AD and Jimmy Butler made their debuts and Christian Clark is here to talk about the fan backlash for Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks.
good morning everybody good morning guys uh morning not very often i get to exclaim the reverse of a trade usually i'm hey we've got a trade we have a rescinded trade this is very rare uh but unfortunately this trade has fallen through uh the lakers and hornets their trade for mark williams uh and dalton connect has fallen through because mark williams has uh
Chapter 2: Why was the Lakers and Hornets trade rescinded?
They found multiple issues on his physical. The Lakers did. So failure to satisfy a condition of the trade. The trade has been rescinded. Dalton Connect is going to go back to the Lakers. Mark Williams returns. And, by the way, the Charlotte Hornets put out a really nice statement about Mark Williams and how excited they are to have him back. And I would even say this, S, like –
when you look at Mark Williams, I mean, this is a talented young player who I think the Hornets, when you look at where they're at as an organization, it probably wasn't the easiest guy for them to give up. It's not like he's a bum.
No, he makes a lot of sense next to LaMelo ball and Brandon Miller. And the only thing is like, you hope he can just stay healthy in his career. He's had, he's played less than a hundred games through three seasons of his career. So I don't think I'm necessarily surprised that this trade got rescinded and that the physical was to a point where the Lakers were like, we want backseas. Like we, we,
We want to take back this whole situation. Also, like from the Lakers perspective, I know there's a lot of Lakers fans who are sad that this trade hasn't gone through, but you might have caught a break here because ultimately you might have had, you know, for a lack of better words, damaged goods here in the sense that it
If he was going to come and you would have had an injured starting center, you would have wasted all that draft capital. Think about the 2031 unprotected pick Dalton connect. They had a swap in there as well. So now you can actually do more in the summer to build around Luca.
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Chapter 3: How did Jimmy Butler fit in with the Warriors?
So it might be like, you know, the medicine that you have to take, so to speak, to make this team actually make sense moving forward.
Yeah. Jimmy Butler made his debut. Zena. We've been talking all year long. Looks good. I said, look, they're going to have a top five defense and things have fallen apart there. But they needed a number two. I think they found him. He put up 25 points. The fit looks good, Zena.
13.
They needed someone to get to the line. And that's exactly what they got in Jimmy Butler. It was almost like clockwork. Give the ball, Jimmy Butler, do that little cross green action that usually was for Andrew Wiggins before he departed. And now it's Jimmy Butler getting to the paint, finding some contact and getting to the line.
To the point that Jimmy Butler got to the line at one point, turned around, looked at Steph Curry, pointed straight at him. It was like, I don't know exactly what he said, but I can imagine it was to the sentiment of, ain't this what y'all needed?
right at you the chef has his butler you know it was finally yeah it was really really pretty to see him working there's one play draymond green did an over the defense pass as to a lob jimmy butler just jumps puts it into the basket and it was just like oh draymond walks up to him chest bumps like the sparks were flying for the water we were talking about this yesterday about like we were texting back and forth about steph
And like the spiritual experience it is to watch Steph the way he was against the Bulls in that third quarter. He was just awesome. And so he feels rejuvenated now, right? It's like he had a little extra pep in his step knowing he has that secondary scoring option.
I'm really excited to see this team once Kuminga comes back, too, because you have two guys who can barrel to the basket, get to the free throw line, do their thing next to Steph, right?
He's on his way. He's on his way.
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Chapter 4: What were the fan reactions to Luka Doncic's trade?
Chapter 5: What impact will Anthony Davis' injury have on the Mavericks?
I do like Ben Simmons getting out of the East personally. Yeah. And just getting away from the drama that has followed him in the East and getting to start a new chapter here in the West. But yeah, I definitely think this adds to the Clippers.
It's a good weather city. Good for Ben Simmons.
It is.
Listen, I think the West is going to be such a fun playoff race now with all these moves. And I think Ben Simmons is going to be a part of what the Clippers do. I love him for this team. And we've been high on Ben Simmons this year. He's put up some interesting numbers, but yeah, it's going to be fun. Guys, stick around after the break.
Zena is going to sit down with Christian Clark and get to the bottom of the fan reaction to Lucas Traylor.
Christian, thank you so much for making time in what I'm sure has been a tumultuous period. Coming right on to the beat for The Athletic, covering the Dallas Mavericks for us, Christian Clark. How have the last two months been for you?
Yeah, so, you know, I think I watched Luca play 10, 11 games since I started this job. The Mavericks were playing really well going into Christmas Day. I think they'd won 14 of 16. You know, I was looking at that. I was like, OK, top 11 in offense and defense.
you know they're they're winning a lot like they look like you know they could be one of those teams they that's in contention at the end again you know maybe oklahoma city thunder like the favorites in the west but like they're right there at least and then luca strains his calf on christmas day you know it gets kind of quiet about his return and then boom middle of the night during this five game road trip the mavericks trade him the guy who has the second highest postseason scoring average in nba history the only guy ahead of him is michael jordan
That seems surreal, especially to come onto a beat and all of a sudden your world is turned upside down. And we haven't really gotten to dive in other than through your articles, but we haven't actually got a chance to talk to you since all of that happened.
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Chapter 6: How is Christian Clark covering the Dallas Mavericks?
The two trade deadlines before this one, Nico Harrison made moves where publicly I don't know that they had 100 percent approval rating. Right. He traded for Kyrie Irving two years ago. The public opinion at the time was like Kyrie Irving. I mean, you know, his his stint with the Brooklyn Nets was a disaster. This will never work out. And that actually worked out last year.
He sends first round picks out for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. I don't know if the public reaction to that was as negative, but like there was definitely some people looking at it with the skeptical eye. And what happened? Well, the Mavericks catch fire after they make those trades. They end up going all the way to the NBA finals.
So the two trade deadlines before this one, Nico Harrison made moves where the public was like, I don't know about this. And they really worked out. You know, I think this time it's like he's taking this to Patrick Dubon and it's like, look, I've made these moves where people were unsure about them. They've really worked out. I want to do this one. And I think Patrick Dubon just just trusted him.
He's just not a he's not a guy with a basketball background.
It was just interesting that in supporting the decision by his front office, he also had some criticisms of folks that have since left. It's like there's a different way of supporting them without having to say basically that Luka Doncic was taking vacations and didn't have a hard work ethic. I thought that was very interesting in the way that he put that.
Now, I'm happy you brought up the fact that there were some previous moves that the Mavericks have made that have since worked out despite public outcry. And you were... At the game this past Saturday, when Anthony Davis made his debut, Max Christie now has played two games with the Mavs. But you were out there when people were actually protesting what was going on. Like, what was the vibe?
Were you scared? Because there's been a lot of sentiment around public safety and particularly the safety of the officials. Like, what was it like to be out there amongst the protests?
Yeah, I think ESPN reported that Nico Harrison received death threats over the Luka Doncic trade. I was out there outside the Dirk statue watching the protest. I did not come away with that thinking it was scary. I mean, it was 100 Mavericks fans. They weren't happy. Obviously, their chin. Sell the team. Fire Nico. We love Luka. Things like that.
But I did not look at that and was like, this was scary. I was never for a moment yesterday like, oh my gosh, I'm worried for my own safety or there's something that might happen. I mean, there was a police presence out there. They had like a, you know, a canine dog which can sniff for drugs or bombs or whatever. And the mood inside the building was not really that negative at all.
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Chapter 7: What were the Mavericks' management's comments on the trade?
But there's another player that was involved in this trade. It wasn't just Anthony Davis. There was a younger player, a person that you could probably look to for the future of the franchise. Not necessarily the future face, but definitely someone that can help out. And that is Max Christie.
And Max Christie was on a roll at the Lakers, definitely playing well, particularly as a three and D guy being some length on the perimeter, et cetera. And you saw him kind of transition that with Max's approach and his debut in a
with Dallas and then particularly this past game, closing that game out with a big three at the end, you know, what's been the sentiment around how Max Christie has already gelled in with this team.
Yeah. He's, he's put together three really nice games with what the Mavericks, I think he's going to turn 22 years old, you know, later this week. So he's been awesome. I mean, he was, he was in his starting role with the Lakers before he got traded. I mean, seems like, like a super bright young guy. I totally get why the Mavericks wanted him in this trade.
You know, I think one of the things you heard immediately after they made the Luka trade and got back AD, Max Christie was like, they got too many guards, you know, and they're probably going to make another move for the deadline. And that's what they ended up doing. Trading Quentin Grimes, who's going to be a restricted free agent this summer and getting back Caleb Barton.
You know, I think Max Christie being brought in here and Dante Exum getting healthy, kind of set the stage for that Quentin Grimes trade. But yeah, Max Christie's a really nice player. And I mean, not even 22 years old yet.
When you think about the floor general on this team, outside of Kyrie Irving, what's that second layer for them in terms of how you think they want to set up their team on the floor?
I think you're getting at one of the most important questions or concerns with this trade. You know, moving on from Luca puts an enormous creation load on Kyrie Irving, who's going to turn 33 years old in March. He's been honest that he's dealing with a bulging disc in his back. I mean, he's really... The drop-off between Kyrie and the Mavericks' next best guard creator is massive now.
Jason Kidd likened Luka Dutchess and Kyrie Irving to quarterbacks. The Mavericks had this two-quarterback offense. Well, the difference between QB1 and QB2 now is enormous. And I think that's got to be scary and a little bit of concern for the Mavericks. And I think when you look ahead to the playoffs, it's like... Okay, let's say they play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
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