Anthony Davis was at the heart of the biggest trade of the NBA season, with a spectacular move at the trade deadline.
And when he was injured in his Dallas Mavericks debut, and for him, the move was almost an immediate disaster for him when he was locked out for more than a month.
Anthony Davis and the Mavericks have failed to make the playoffs and are reset for next year. So they try to load it into a free agency and rebuild the roster.
This is the latest challenge in Davis’ career, being drafted to New Orleans in 2012 and joined the league as the highly coveted number one pick.
Davis spent time with superstars before playing the NBA games, travelling with the US Olympic team in 2012, mixing up with stars like Kobe Bryant.
And one virus clip of Kobe Bryant and Anthony Davis spurred an interesting response among fans.
La Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was captured in a 2012 video clip to give tips and style advice to Anthony Davis.
“When Kobe received AD marketing advice in 2012, it was titled in the viral clip.
Kobe Bryant urges Davis to shave his infamous Uniblow, and advises him that he refuses to follow.
The real reason this video went viral was the man in the background, a grinning Nike executive who accompanied Davis.
It was nothing but now Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison who adjusted his move to take Davis to Dallas.
Fans were unable to overcome the distraction of Nico Harrison taking part in the video, and many were totally unaware that his past history was working with the players.
“Is that Nico?” asked one fan, but another wrote:
“It’s no wonder Nico has been looking at AD for 13 years,” the third wrote.
Another addition: “It all makes sense now.”
“I know I don’t think it’s who,” another added.
“At this point, Nico has decided to trade with advertising, regardless of costs,” writes another.
One fan said, “Only three Lakers legends hanging out.”
Another addition: “I know you did some demonic things while the legal ads and Kobe were on the same video, when everyone was talking about him.”
The big story of the Mavericks trade was their decision to send Luka Donsic to the La Lakers, but Harrison has always argued that his focus is focusing on leading Davis into the organization.
While many criticized MAVS for not getting Doncic’s fair value, Harrison was an elite talent that Damant Davis could change his team.
At various press conferences, Harrison repeats the mantra “defense wins the championship” and hopes that his dream will take the next step when Kyrie Irving recovers from his injury next season.
In April he said: “If you don’t rate AD as an All-NBA player, all defensive player, you don’t like trading. We targeted him, but if you don’t like him, there’s nothing else to be excited about trading.”
Harrison has worked with Davis for years at Nike and for years he knew he really believed he could help the organization.
Watching the video with Anthony Davis in 2012 was a surprise to some NBA fans, but his past is no secret that he works with players.
The former Dallas mayor condemned Harrison’s decision, but former NBA star Penny Hardaway put in the move he believed in and supported courage regardless of the blowback.