The Dallas Mavericks pulled off the most shocking trade in NBA history last weekend as they sent Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick.

This deal was done in the shadows, as Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka kept their cards extremely close to their chests throughout the entire process. Harrison kept things quiet, even to the point of not involving Doncic and his agent Bill Duffy throughout this process, and the same can be said about Davis and his agent Rich Paul.

Davis and Paul were just as shocked about this deal as fans sitting at home last Saturday night, and Paul opened up about Davis and his journey to Dallas in an exclusive interview with The Smoking Cuban on Friday.

Paul reacts to Mavericks blockbuster, Davis details bond with Harrison

Paul’s clients have been part of plenty of trades throughout his career as CEO of Klutch Sports Group, as that is a major part of the business, but none of this magnitude. Two top-10 players were traded for each other suddenly with a few days to go before the trade deadline, and while Paul was initially shocked about the deal that went down, not everything about this blockbuster trade surprised him.

“It was a shock,” Paul told The Smoking Cuban when asked about the Davis-Doncic trade. “The timing of it was a shock, who it was was a shock, but I’m not shocked that AD’s in Dallas. I’m not shocked about that at all. I’ve known Nico for 20-plus years, and I know how he felt about AD. So that doesn’t shock me at all. But just like everyone else, the timing of it was a shock, and who he was traded for was also a shock.”

No one expected the Mavs to trade Doncic, but the team’s connection to Davis over the years is undeniable. The Mavericks’ rumored interest in Davis goes all the way back to the 2022-23 season, and Harrison and Davis’ relationship goes back to Harrison’s days with Nike. Davis talked about how he met Harrison when he was in high school through attending Nike camps, and their relationship has continued until today.

“When he was with his tenure with Nike, I’ve just been a Nike athlete, so we’ve just been close like that and developed a relationship,” Davis said of Harrison on Friday. “Having Nico here, familiar with J-Kidd, Duds…It made the transition a lot smoother.”

Having familiar faces in the front office and coaching staff in Dallas has already made this process easier for Davis, and his unique relationships with Jason Kidd, Jared Dudley, and Harrison are something that can’t be overlooked. Davis won a championship in Los Angeles with both Kidd and Dudley on the coaching staff, and his lengthy relationship with Harrison is also something that played a role in this move.

“That’s what gives you the comfortability to make that type of trade and to be able to do it in a quiet fashion because Nico knew he wasn’t getting a disgruntled guy on the other end based upon their relationship, based upon our relationship, and so that’s always important in those type of deals,” Paul told The Smoking Cuban when asked about Davis’ relationship with Harrison.

Relationships are everything in today’s NBA, and through what Harrison knows about Davis, he thought that he was going to be a great fit with the Mavs due to his two-way ability and ability to “add to the culture,” and Davis feels the same way.