Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie still remembers the exact moment he found out he was going to be included in the Luka Doncic trade.
Christie spoke to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears about his experience ahead of the Lakers’ highly anticipated Tuesday night clash against the Dallas Mavericks. Just hours before news of the Doncic deal broke, Christie had a solid 15-point outing in a 128-112 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y.
The 22-year-old said he was “feeling pretty good” as he rode the team bus back to the Lakers’ hotel with the clock nearing midnight. That’s when Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka gave him a call to inform him he was part of the trade just minutes before the rest of the world found out.
Christie revealed he stayed up all night in his hotel room from midnight until his 8:30 a.m. flight to go to Dallas.
“If you look at the magnitude of that trade, it magnifies that emotion,” said Christie. “So, I was shocked, man. I was on the floor in the hotel room for two hours just thinking about what was going on. I eventually came to my senses, obviously, and had to put one foot in front of the other and think about what I needed to do next. So far, I’ve had a good job just kind of settling in and just trying to stay present. That’s the biggest thing for me is just being present here, trying to help this team win games.”
Outrage about losing Doncic aside, Christie has been very productive as a member of the Mavericks. His play became magnified once Anthony Davis went down with an injury.
In eight games with the Mavs, Christie has averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. Dallas has gone 5-3 since Christie’s first game with the team
