The Utah Jazz didn't have a major part in this weekend's league-shifting trade involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks' exchange of Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis, but still made their way in as the third-team in a massive blockbuster deal many consider as the biggest in NBA history.
However, despite the magnitude of the deal, the Jazz were almost just as oblivious of the implications as the rest of the NBA and its fans.
According to ESPN insiders Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon, the Jazz weren't aware that Doncic and Davis were involved in the deal to bring in Jalen Hood-Schifino until around an hour before it was finalized. It's also reported that Utah CEO Danny Ainge only had around 30 minutes to digest the news ahead of the big reveal.
"Even the Utah Jazz, the third team that facilitated the transaction by collecting two second-round picks for absorbing Jalen Hood-Schifino, didn't know Doncic and Davis were a part of the deal until about an hour before it was completed, league sources said. Even Jazz president Danny Ainge, who hails from the Lakers' hated rival, the Boston Celtics, had only about 30 minutes notice, sources said, that Los Angeles was about to acquire Doncic to be the new face of its franchise. But by then it was too late to do much about it. NBA history was about to be altered."ESPN's Ramona Shelburne & Tim MacMahon
This mega three-team deal might not only be one of the most significant across the entire course of NBA history, but the move may also be among of the most secretive blockbusters we've seen in some time as well.
The news of the deal sent a shockwave around the league catching players, executives, and fans off guard. With no rumblings of Doncic's availability from Dallas surfacing ahead of the move, or even Davis' chances to be moved on from Los Angeles, the initial report from Shams Charania was almost seen as an elaborate prank or a hacker finding his way into the insider's account.
Yet, the deal was as real as ever, and it went almost as under-the-radar as any trade of that magnitude could be. So much so that the Jazz themselves weren't aware of the implications despite being one of the three teams to make it happen.
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