Over the past week, ESPN NBA lead insider Shams Charania has been extremely busy as the Thursday NBA trade deadline approached, so much so that he had to abruptly leave in the middle of his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. He joined McAfee to discuss the blockbuster trade he reported involving Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Like many of his peers, Charania did not have an optimistic view for the Mavericks, stating, “When I first got wind, and it was probably… five sources before I put out the trade in about a five or six-minute time span. I was as shocked as anyone. Everyone in the NBA, players, coaches, even Patrick Mahomes, was talking about it. The magnitude of this trade caught everyone off guard. You peel back the curtains… and I have done some research into Dallas. There’s a concern about conditioning and the buy-in of Luka Dončić. Right or wrong, over the last five years, the same grievances have persisted. Although he has led the team to a Finals run and has been in the MVP conversation, the Mavericks felt the need to shift the direction of the organization this season.”
There’s NO WAY anybody thinks this was a good trade for the Dallas Mavericks @ShamsCharania#PMSLive https://t.co/r9R5uruQUy pic.twitter.com/kpkXXoseGP
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 4, 2025
Charania later mentioned that the Lakers have “optimism” regarding Dončić’s debut, potentially as soon as Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. Just minutes after this update, he appeared to receive more breaking news and told McAfee he needed to leave the show. The cast cheered, hinting at ongoing NBA trade developments.
“There is optimism that Luka Doncic will be making his Lakers debut on Saturday..
Against your Indiana Pacers” ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/zlvgQCZFSb
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 4, 2025
This raises the question of what information prompted Charania’s hasty exit. While it wasn’t as significant as the Lakers-Mavericks trade, it involved the Mavericks again. Charania reported moments later on X (formerly Twitter) that the Mavericks were trading Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Caleb Martin.
Dallas is sending Quentin Grimes
and Philadelphia’s 2025 second-round pick back to the 76ers for Martin, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/4vSqohB03U— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2025
As multiple sports insiders have shown, the news cycle never stops, even if the breaking news isn’t always groundbreaking, as evidenced by Tuesday’s events.
