In a recent interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss talked about why Anthony Davis’ unhappiness was one of the biggest reasons why she decided it was time to move on from the big man. According to Jeanie, the Purple & Gold wanted to make moves that would shake up the team and give them an entirely different look.

“We gave up a lot to get Luka Dončić. We’re happy we have him. We have lost the last three years in a row to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, and we really didn’t have anything that was going to look different going into the playoffs again. Anthony Davis was complaining about where he was being played, and he wasn’t happy. So I think this was a positive for both teams,” Buss said.

Buss didn’t want to build around AD anymore

Davis, who spent six years in Los Angeles, expressed his unhappiness because he believed that he wasn’t in the best position to succeed. Exactly two weeks before the trade, the 31-year-old big man was on national television pleading with the Lakers’ front office to acquire so he could return to his preferred position, power forward.

However, the “Lake Show” refused to do that, and trading the 10-time All-Star in exchange for a 25-year-old showed that they no longer wanted to build around the big man, especially after the soon and unavoidable departure of current franchise player That’s not to say that Buss wasn’t grateful for Davis’ time with the Purple & Gold, but more so that she believed trading him to the Mavericks in exchange for the Slovenian superstar was the right move to keep everyone satisfied.

“They [Mavericks] got what they were looking for; we got what we were looking for. And I didn’t realize it was going to be international news like it was, but that’s the power of the Laker brand and its ability to draw big names who want to write their own chapter in Lakers history,” said Buss.

A partnership that was impending to end

In fairness to “The Brow,” his last year with the Lakers wasn’t all that bad. In fact, AD pleaded with the team to acquire a big man alongside him because he felt that he and LeBron could’ve still won another championship.

Los Angeles also had a 27-19 record before the trade and was in prime position to stay within the playoff race in the Western Conference if they were going to be healthy. However,  felt that even if they were winning a lot of games in the regular season, they still wouldn’t have had the advantage against the Nuggets, who kicked them out of the playoffs twice in the last two seasons.

That’s why the deal for Doncic was made even if the Lakers were reportedly not shopping Davis around. It was a trade that the organization couldn’t refuse, and it was one they knew would be a win for both AD and them, thus ending their partnership.