One of the most shocking moves in NBA history took place when Luka Doncic was traded for Anthony Davis. As the Los Angeles Lakers have improved, Davis's agent, Rich Paul dropped a surprising similarity.

He sees this as similar to the Saquon Barkley situation with the New York Giants on the Pat McAfee Show.

Obviously yeah, it’s going to sting, that always happens, we call it after cards. Same thing with Saquon. If Saquon does not win a Super Bowl, then the sting is probably a little bit less, but the fact that he did win, yeah it’s going to sting. That’s the price that you pay when you make those types of decisions.

“That’s the risk that you take when you make those types of decisions. We’ve all been in situations where we have to make big-boy business decisions, and when you make those decisions you have to live with the consequences of those decisions.”

Both the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks are within playoff positions. However, the Mavericks made the 2024 NBA Finals with Doncic. While there were questions about his health, it didn't seem too reasonable.

Going back to Barkley, his situation wasn't as dire. Doncic's trade was fully unexpected. With the current Philadelphia Eagles running back, there was a growing feeling that he would leave.

Safe to say that Barkley is thriving, and Doncic is doing the same.

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Rich Paul sees Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis's similarity to Saquon Barkley

Reverting to the Doncic and Davis trade, Paul says he is a close friend of the general manager, Nico Harrison. However, he didn't make a point as to why the trade made sense for the Mavericks.

He is in an awkward situation having both LeBron James and Davis as clients. At the same time, he said you can’t replace Doncic if you’re Anthony Davis, but he’s trying to help the Mavericks move on.

“I’ve moved on from that because obviously, I have Anthony Davis there that needs to really focus and try to turn whatever the culture or the environment is the best way he can into a positive,” Paul said.

“Obviously he can’t replace the guy that he traded but he has a job to do.”

Although the words might be cold and callous, Paul makes a point. Davis has a job to try and elevate the Mavericks. However, he might get the short end of the stick because of how valuable Doncic was to the city.