The recent blockbuster trade sending Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers gives the defending Western Conference champions an elite inside-outside combination with Kyrie Irving and AD. The move also sees Lakers superstar LeBron James paired up with a new running mate and one of the best he’s ever had in Doncic.
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards joked following his team’s 116-114 loss against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night that the shocking deal made him “scared.” His unserious fear doesn’t stem from either of his Western Conference foes new dynamic duos, however.
Edwards explained that given how stunning the Mavericks’ decision was to trade their five-time All-Star, he wondered if he was expendable in the eyes of Timberwolves general manager Tim Connelly.
Edwards: ‘If Luka Gets Traded, Anybody is Able to Get Traded’
Roughly 48 hours after the AD-Doncic trade was first reported, the news was still being discussed in Minnesota’s postgame locker room on Monday.
“They said that nobody knew about the trade, so that’s crazy. They traded probably the best scorer in the NBA at 25 (years old) and he didn’t know about it. There’s a lot more digging somebody gotta to do to find out why he got traded. Because you don’t trade him at 25. He just went to The Finals. I feel bad for Luka,” Edwards said. “I’m scared. Tim, if you’re gonna trade me let me know dawg. When Luka got traded, anybody is able to get traded.”
The Timberwolves will play the Lakers one more time during the regular season — Feb. 27 in Los Angeles.
Doncic vs. Edwards Career Comparison
While Edwards (23 years old) and Doncic (25) are over two years apart, both guards have racked up an impressive number of accolades early in their respective careers.
After he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and subsequently traded to Dallas for Trae Young, the Slovenian captured the Rookie of the Year Award following the 2018-19 regular season. Doncic then made five consecutive All-Star teams from 2020-24, was a top-10 finisher in the regular season MVP vote during the entire stretch and had his best year during the 2023-24 campaign.
Not only did he earn his first scoring title (career high 33.9 points per game) and have his best finish in the MVP race (third), but he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. Doncic was the Western Conference Finals MVP in the team’s triumph over Edwards’ Timberwolves.
He’s also been named first team All-NBA five straight times, though that streak will end this year due to the Association’s recent rule change, requiring players to suit up for at least 65 games to qualify for end-of-season awards. Doncic’s played in just 22 contests this season and hasn’t taken the floor since Christmas Day due to a left calf strain.
Like Doncic, “Ant” was a highly touted prospect entering the NBA. The Atlanta, Georgia native was chosen first overall by Minnesota during the 2020 NBA Draft and finished second to LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets in the Rookie of the Year race during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Edwards has only gotten better across each of his first four-plus seasons, seeing his scoring numbers increase every year.
The University of Georgia product was named second team All-NBA and finished seventh in the MVP voting last season and earned his third straight All-Star nod this winter. Edwards has also been remarkably durable since his rookie year, playing in 351 of a possible 368 regular season contests (95.3%).
The former top draft pick is arguably having his best season, posting career highs in points (26.5) and minutes per game (36.7), while posting a career-best .421 three-point field goal percentage across 49 contests as well.
With the trade deadline just two days away, Edwards’ future in the Twin Cities seems rock solid.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards Jokes That He’s ‘Scared’ After Luka Doncic Trade appeared first on Heavy Sports.