Max Christie, a former starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, described his emotional response to being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the Luka Doncic deal, according to comments released on Apr. 5.
Christie said he was surprised and overwhelmed when he learned about the trade. He explained that it was a significant moment in his career and shared how he coped with the news.
“We’d just beat the Knicks in New York by 10 or 15, we were feeling good. We were kind of rolling at that point. I had started maybe 15 to 20 games in a row at that point for us. We’re on the way back to the hotel, we were staying the night. On the team bus, and Rob Pelinka and JJ (Redick) kind of called me at the same time. And this was around th deadline and so, Rob didn’t call me all that often, like every now and then.
But as soon as my phone started ringing and I saw it, I kind of had an idea. But I didn’t want to assume. And then he basically told me what was going on, and zero sleep that night for sure. I didn’t sleep at all. At all. I was pretty shook,” Christie said during an appearance on The Old Man and The Three podcast.
He added: “Yeah, I mean you see it all the time. Like growing up and then even I stayed on the Lakers through two trade deadlines and seeing teammates get traded, seeing guys around the league get traded and you don’t really know what it’s like until you’re a part of something like that. I just happened to be a part of probably one of the biggest ones ever. So, I was honestly pretty numb, I didn’t even know what to feel, you know what I’m saying? It was something on such a large scale. But, I mean, I’m very happy where I’m at.”
Since joining Dallas as part of one of basketball’s most notable trades involving Luka Doncic last year, Christie has established himself as an important player for his new team.
The story also notes continued connections among former teammates despite changes resulting from major trades.
