Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss expressed her excitement in her first public statement since they acquired Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks.

Jeanie Buss, Kate Hudson, Lakers

Getty: (L-R) Jeanie Buss and Kate Hudson attend Netflix’s “Running Point” LA Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 13, 2025.

“Luka is a very special player,” Buss said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight during the premiere of Netflix’s “Running Point” on Feb. 13. “We’re thrilled to have him as part of the Laker team, but we had to give up a lot to get him. And we’re going to miss Anthony Davis and Max Christie.”

The Lakers also sent their 2029 first-round pick to the Mavericks as part of the deal, which drew an overwhelming reaction that the Mavericks could have gotten more had they informed the rest of the NBA that Dončić was available.

In the 25-year-old Dončić, the Lakers got their face of the franchise for the next decade. It also became the envy around the NBA as Jeanie continued his father, Dr. Jerry Buss’ long-held tradition of landing generational superstars from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and now Dončić.

Luka Dončić Trade Offer Too Good To Pass Up

Buss was “extraordinarily excited and hopeful” revealed Rob Pelinka, the Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, when he informed her for the first time of the Mavericks’ offer to trade Dončić.

“And when the concept was initially introduced to us, it was, hey, the only way we can even have these discussions was if it’s between owner and GMs. And there was a commitment to that,” Pelinka said during Dončić’s introductory press conference on Feb. 4. “And if we broke that commitment by talking to anyone else, this day would never happen. I think trust was at the center of all those discussions.

“And I called Jeanie after the coffee in Dallas and brought her in immediately, as I do with everything. Her and I have a really strong working relationship, and the fabric of that is that we share things in real time. And she was extraordinarily excited and hopeful that we could get to the end, which we were able to do.”

While Buss was saddened to let Davis and Christie go, she looked at the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a generational star like Dončić as too good to pass up.

“It’s like you’re always trying to improve the team, get a little bit better and ultimately win a championship,” Buss told Entertainment Tonight.

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Lakers Still Have Work To Do

The Lakers, however, are far from a finished product after their shocking midseason acquisition of Dončić. They still have a massive hole in the middle which they need to fill after losing Davis, an All-NBA defensive center in the deal.

The Lakers tried to fill that void by aggressively trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams. But the trade has since been rescinded after they found out multiple issues on the 23-year-old center’s physical not related to his back issue, which limited him to only 19 games last season.

They settled with 12-year veteran center Alex Len, who looked underwhelming in his Lakers debut.

The Lakers can still waive one more player to sign another center, but the free agent and buyout market has already dried up. Their best bet to get Dončić’s lob partner will be in the offseason.