LeBron James Breaks Silence About Ridiculous Anthony Davis Rumor After Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the most stunning trades in recent NBA history on Saturday night. The Lakers sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and their 2029 first-round picks to Dallas in exchange for Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in a superstar swap that nobody saw coming.

While the Phoenix Suns’ reaction to the deal went viral many other fans were left scratching their heads. Besides, it’s not common to see two All-Star players switch teams in the middle of the season. But although there are some thoughts that have some merit, one theory was so absurd that LeBron James had to rush to social media to debunk it.

LeBron James Denies Rumor He Facilitated Anthony Davis Trade

Moments after news of the trade broke on Saturday night, Bill Reiter of CBS Sports HQ referenced a note he had received from last year’s trade deadline that James had grown frustrated with Anthony Davis. While Davis and James teamed up to help the Lakers win an NBA championship during the 2019-20 season, James reportedly believed the relationship was not working and gave his approval to the deal on Saturday night.

“There was talk within the Lakers organization that LeBron James had grown a little frustrated with Anthony Davis,” Reiter said. “It wasn’t that necessarily A.D. was going to be traded. … It was just…there’s something to keep an eye on. LeBron is frustrated with A.D. He doesn’t think that it’s working and that’s because LeBron has very, very high expectations. And you fast forward a year later, obviously that…information from a Lakers source was accurate.”

Reiter also went on to mention James’s unique personality and desire to win which may have shoved Davis out the door in Saturday’s trade.

“This was probably a slow boil,” Reiter continued. “It’s always hard to know with [James]. I’ve covered the guy. We’ve all watched him for years. Amazing player…[but] he can be…a little moody. This is something I’d heard about and we talked about a year ago. You never know. Just LeBron having a bad month with AD but obviously LeBron had made the consideration because this trade doesn’t happen without his absolute blessing and approval.

“LeBron had clearly made the determination that his window is longer than just this season because Luka is injured. But he doesn’t have the pieces to win in this window, whatever he thinks it is in the next year or two in the new CBA, makes it much more restrictive. There wasn’t going to be these opportunities to go get a big name because of some of the limitations. We’re speculating here to a degree. I’ve got some reporting here that suggests from people that LeBron was certainly involved. But this follows a pattern where LeBron wants to win championships. It doesn’t matter if he’s 26 or 40 years old. And you’re right. There’s no chance this trade happens without LeBron giving his consent and maybe a bit of a shove out the door.”

Word of the report caught James on Sunday night and the Lakers star replied with a post on his X report stating, “You a fkn lie!!!” with a Pinocchio and clown emojis for added effect.

Reiter replied in a separate post that he stood by his reporting. But even then it didn’t take “context” to understand that he was implying that James had made the decision to move on from Davis. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin also said that James learned of the trade when he was out with his family, so something isn’t right here.

Whoever is right, Saturday’s trade was a massive shakeup that made the Lakers one of the NBA’s most interesting teams down the final stretch. With several more players who could be on the block after the deal, it will be intriguing which players James or the Lakers deem worthy of sticking around for the playoff run.

More Los Angeles Lakers News & Rumors: