EL SEGUNDO — The shocking nature of the Lakers’ blockbuster trade over the weekend that led to them acquiring five-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic as part of a three-team deal that sent 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks has been well-documented.

“Everybody was surprised, so you can imagine how surprised I was,” Doncic said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday morning at his new team’s practice facility. “I was almost asleep, so when I got a call, I had to check if it was April 1st. I didn’t really believe it at first and it was a big shock.”

It wasn’t a prank.

The trade was real, with the Slovenian star arriving in Southern California on late Sunday night and inside the team’s practice facility on Tuesday morning.

Doncic arrived for his introductory press conference sporting a light gray sweater over a white dress shirt with dark gray slacks and white low-top Air Jordans, sitting alongside Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka as not just the newest Laker, but the player the organization hopes can be the face of the franchise for the next decade.

“Luka Doncic joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history,” Pelinka said. “The reason I say that is because we have a 25-year-old global superstar that’s going to get on the stage with the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe. When those two powerful forces come together, it brings basketball joy to the world, because that’s how Luka plays.”

The understated Doncic’s joy was more muted compared to Pelinka, who was behind one of the most surprising trades in NBA history. The basketball world remains baffled by how quiet the Lakers and Mavericks kept the talks. Pelinka clearly took pride in keeping a lid on these negotiations, which began weeks earlier at a coffee shop with Dallas GM Nico Harrison, a longtime friend.

Doncic, who wrote in a social media post to the city of Dallas that he expected to spend his career with the Mavericks, acknowledged the complex emotions he’s felt over the last couple of days. He was grappling with the duality of excitement to be with the Lakers but the difficulty of departing from the only franchise he played for during the first 6 1/2 seasons of his NBA career.

“Honestly, it was hard at first,” said Doncic, who won his first scoring title last season before leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. “That first day was really hard. I felt like this last 48 hours was one month, like two days ago was one month ago. So emotionally, it was really hard.

“But every day there (after) like (Tuesday) was much better. I’m just very happy to be here for this opportunity. This is the Lakers. It’s one of the best clubs in history. So I’m excited to be here.”

Had Doncic stayed in Dallas, he was eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension from the Mavericks this summer. Now, he’s not eligible for such a contract.

When asked by a Dallas-based reporter if he or his representatives had indicated to the Mavericks that he wouldn’t sign a supermax extension to remain with Dallas, Doncic was emphatic that he hadn’t.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

Since the trade, reports from Dallas’ side mentioned concerns about Doncic’s conditioning as one of the main reasons for the franchise trading him, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, to the Lakers.

The Mavericks received Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round draft pick. The Jazz acquired Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Clippers’ 2025 second-round pick and the Mavericks’ 2025 second-round pick.

“I’m just excited to be here to start this new journey,” Doncic said. “Obviously at some point, I knew this was going to happen. But I would say I always take the high road.

He added: “It’s a motive. I know it’s not true. I know. But it’s a motive. I came here, one of the biggest clubs in the history of sports, it’s a big motive for a long run here.”

Doncic has been sidelined since Dec. 25 because of a strained left calf. Pelinka said Doncic will scrimmage five-on-five on Wednesday, adding that Doncic’s status is day-to-day and that he should make his return to the floor “soon.” The Lakers have four games in the region in the next seven days, with a road game against the Clippers on Tuesday night followed by three straight home games. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that there is optimism that Doncic will return in Saturday afternoon’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.

“For the first time, I took my time to get it to heal 100%,” Doncic said. “Other times I think I just wanted to go back on the court playing basketball and not really be healthy 100%. So this time, I just took my time, which was a normal amount of time to get back to 100%.”

Morris was more critical of the critiques about Doncic’s conditioning.

“He’s a great guy, super low maintenance,” Morris said. “One of the only guys that I’ve been on a team with that will play through any injury if he can get on the court. I hear stuff about him not being in shape, but if you can go on an NBA game and get 30, 15, and 10 like it’s nothing, then I don’t really know what shape is.”

The excitement to have the opportunity to play alongside Lakers star LeBron James — a player Doncic has referred to as his “idol” — was palpable.

Although James, 40, was blindsided by the deal along with the rest of the NBA, he quickly made a call to Doncic to welcome him to the Lakers.

“It’s just like a dream come true,” Doncic said of playing alongside the top scorer in NBA history. “I always looked up to him. There’s so many things I can learn from him, and I’m just excited to learn everything and now I get to play with him. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Doncic added: “We both make our teammates better. Our IQ is very high. That’s going to help everybody. Obviously I really haven’t (thought) about basketball much these days. But I’m just excited to work with him.”

Stars of Doncic’s age and accomplishments are almost never traded in any sport, and particularly not in such an abrupt manner. But when Dallas decided to move on from its young centerpiece, the Lakers eagerly gave up the 31-year-old Davis — one of basketball’s best big men — to make it happen.

Pelinka addressed the rare opportunity the Lakers had with acquiring Doncic, considered a generational talent who has already made five consecutive All-NBA first teams after winning the 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year.

“I try to take everything in stride,” Pelinka said. “It’s interesting. If all of us watch Luka play, he has a combination of basketball joy and killer instinct, which is really rare. That was number eight, number 24 (referring to Kobe Bryant). And I think learning lessons from that mentality are stay in the moment.

“So I don’t think of it in terms of shock, surprise. I think of it as, ‘OK, this is coming at me, it’s like a game.’ Maybe a blitz is coming at Luka, he’s not going to be shocked, he’s going to stay in the moment, figure out the read and make the play. And so when the opportunity came to me, that was my mindset is to, ‘OK, this is coming, this is a concept that came to me, now, how do I process this mentally to get the deal completed?’”

And Pelinka and the Lakers got the deal done, securing a franchise cornerstone in Doncic, who turns 26 on Feb. 28, who can lead the Lakers in the present and future.

“It’s a gift,” Pelinka said. “We’re talking about a 25-year-old that is a top-three player in the universe. I can’t think of a more amazing starting point to build a roster for the next decade. And I know he has the drive to win that we have here.

“Our fans are going to see that every night on the court. I know up here he might seem calm and casual and quiet, but we know the alter ego comes out. And we’ll see it at Crypto.com (Arena) soon, and I can’t wait for it.”

Pelinka acknowledged the team’s need for another big man — a need that was already present before trading Davis, one of the best two-way big men in the sport.

“We know we have a need for a big. The market for bigs right now leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline is very dry,” he said. “There’s just not a lot available. If there’s not a championship big on the market, I can’t wave a wand and create that opportunity. We’ll continue to work and look for areas that we can complete and fill out the roster. Maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins. In terms of a big move for that position, it’s probably more realistic that would be something that comes in the offseason. But Luka will be at the center of that as we build for the long term.”

Pelinka added: “The urgency (to contend for a title) is ever-present. That’s what the Lakers set out to do. At the same time, you have to be realistic. And if there’s not a championship big on the market, I can’t wave a wand and create that opportunity. We’ll continue to work and look for areas that we can complete and fill out the roster.”