PHILADELPHIA -- Speaking for the first time publicly since the Dallas Mavericks stunningly dealt Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving said "it's still a grieving process" for him and his teammates, while also saying he was excited about the prospect of finally getting to play alongside longtime friend Anthony Davis.

"Just really shocked," Irving said after scoring 34 points in 42 minutes in a 118-116 loss to the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. "You just don't imagine you're going to get ready to go to sleep and then you find out news like that.

"It's still a grieving process right now. I miss my hermano."

In a surreal scene around the Mavericks in the wake of the trade that continues to reverberate across the NBA, Irving wasn't asked a single question about Tuesday's game, which saw Dallas fumble a chance to tie or win in the final seconds.

Instead, every question centered on Irving's reaction to the trade that sent Doncic to the Lakers for Davis, and on his past links to potentially playing alongside Davis. At several points, Irving made it clear that he's still sorting through his emotions over seeing Doncic leave after the two led Dallas to the NBA Finals less than a year ago.

"This is a business, it's way above my pay grade, and I've just got to adjust and be ready to welcome in my new teammates with open arms and kind of be ready to go back to Dallas, too, to speak in front of our fans," Irving said. "I know they are feeling it, too. I'm feeling it too, guys. So, yeah, it's just an adjustment period. I don't want to downplay this either, or disrespect our new guys. They're going to help us win, and help us build toward a championship, but just like everyone else at home, when you kind of see it from afar, it hurts."

Later, Irving said, "This is a weird case in NBA history to be a part of, but at the same time it's the nature of our business, and it is a ruthless business. So you've got to be ready to pick up the pieces and run towards the championship. That's the ultimate goal and why I play, and having other guys that are championship winners, too, helps.

"But at the same time, we still have to acknowledge our little Slovenian president is no longer here, and we've got to adjust."

That adjustment will include playing alongside Davis, a player Irving has been connected to for years. During the 2018-19 season, while Irving was in Boston, Davis was often rumored to be joining him with the Celtics.

Eventually, that Celtics team fell apart, despite an immensely talented roster, and Irving wound up leaving in 2019 to play alongside Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, while Davis was traded to the Lakers in a blockbuster deal to pair him with LeBron James.

Irving, though, explained that the plan was not just for he and Durant to team up, but for he, Durant, Davis and Jayson Tatum to eventually all play together in Boston.

"Yeah. That has no foreshadowing either, on anything, guys. Just letting you know right now," Irving said with a laugh, referring to speculation swirling around Durant, who is now with the Phoenix Suns, ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline. "We were discussing in 2018, just for everybody at home that's watching, because I know all of these words are going to be looked at.

"But yeah, in 2018, it was a dream for Kyrie, AD, KD to be on one team and still keep JT and let him grow and then see how it goes. But back then, those young guys weren't ready to be in trade rumors, man. Our locker room splintered after that once they found out. It wasn't [Jaylen Brown] or JT, but our locker room splintered once they started figuring out the trade rumors, and our season started going in a whole different way."

While that Celtics team fell apart for various reasons, including Irving repeatedly calling out the younger players, the focus for Irving now is on trying to bring along Davis, and leading Dallas to an NBA championship.

The Mavericks are headed to Boston for an NBA Finals rematch Thursday night. When the schedule came out last summer, no one would have imagined this game wouldn't have Doncic as part of the Dallas roster.

But now that the shock of the trade is beginning to wear off, Irving said he believed the talent was in place for Dallas to make another deep playoff run this spring.

"We're putting the pieces together," he said. "And the tone is improving, just because everybody had questions, a little confusion, and that's about it. We're just talking to each other, making sure we're all good, and putting the game first and in a capacity where we can prepare and then off the court in practices and some dinners that we'll have, make sure we connect and make sure we do all the things to have the qualities of a championship team.

"So, same vision, just guys in the locker room are a little bit different. We're going to have to adjust, but we'll be fine."

LOS ANGELES -- When LeBron James subbed out of the first quarter of Tuesday's eventual 122-97 win over the Clippers and marched to his customary seat toward the end of the Lakers' bench, there was a new superstar teammate sitting next to him in the spot Anthony Davis occupied for years.

The NBA's turnstile of talent landed Luka Doncic in Los Angeles over the weekend in a trade that sent shockwaves through the league. Only now -- after initially believing the three-team trade among the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz was a "hoax," and after processing not having Davis by his side after six seasons as teammates -- is reality finally starting to set in for James.

"It still pretty much didn't seem real until I saw Luka today and I saw a clip of AD at the Dallas shootaround," James said after the game. "That's when it finally hit me, like, 'Oh s---, this is real.'"

The fact that James was making his first public comments about the trade in the Lakers locker room at Intuit Dome, the 22-year-veteran explained, was evidence of his acceptance of it.

"If I had concerns about it, I'd waive my no-trade clause and get up out of here," James said. "I'm here right now. I'm here right now. I'm committed to the Lakers organization.

"As the leader of the team, as one of the captains of the team, it's my job to make it as seamless as possible [for the new acquisitions]."

James detailed his late-night dinner after the Lakers' win at the New York Knicks on Saturday, when he first heard the news of the team sending out Davis, Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino and a future first-round pick to bring in Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.

"My emotions were all over the place, obviously," James said. "We had just come off a big win, a huge win in the Garden. I was out. I mean, you guys have seen the report. I was out with my family at dinner and got the news, and the first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax, people messing around or whatever. But then when AD called me, AD FaceTimed me and I talked to him for quite a while, and even when I got off the phone with him, it still didn't seem real."

Asked about the video call with Davis, James said: "It was definitely a weird, uncomfortable, truth moment for us. Just knowing that he was going to be gone, that was very, very difficult. Very challenging. I can see how in shock he was, obviously. And he probably saw it from my face as well."

James said the unprecedented swap initially caught him off guard -- it was the first time in history two current All-NBA players were traded for each other midseason -- but that he could understand the motivation for the Lakers.

"It was shocking when I heard the news, but at the end of the day, I understand the business of basketball," he said. "But I didn't make the decision."

James' chemistry with Davis was apparent from the start, as they won a championship together their first season in 2019-20.

While some have suggested there will be a redundancy in positional responsibilities between him and Doncic, James scoffed at the notion.

"[We can be] whatever we want it to be," James said. "It won't take long. I can play with anybody, and I think he can as well. So we'll work well together."

James' former coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue of the Clippers, said the same.

"I don't see it's going to be a problem at all," Lue said. "[Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] will do a good job of staggering those guys, kind of like we did with Kyrie [Irving] and LeBron for three quarters and then close games together.

"It's a not a tough problem to have."

It's the Lakers causing problems for opponents right now, with wins in nine of their past 11 games to climb to a game behind the No. 4 Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference standings. And that surge will soon feature the 25-year-old dynamo in Doncic, with sources telling ESPN that Doncic is "trending towards" making his Lakers debut Saturday against the visiting Indiana Pacers.

"Luka's been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now," James said. "I think you guys know that. And I've always just tried to play the game the right way and inspire the next generation. And Luka happens to be one of them. And now, we're teammates. So it'll be a very seamless transition."

ATLANTA -- Holding his form at the end of a shot, new San Antonio Spurs point guard De'Aaron Fox threw up both arms in exasperation upon learning the rules of a new shooting game he was playing with Stephon Castle.

That interaction took place at morning shootaround.

But the learning curve steepens later Wednesday at State Farm Arena, where Fox will make his Spurs debut against the Atlanta Hawks alongside generational star Victor Wembanyama.

"It's a very unique opportunity," Fox said. "Not many guys come around like that. And I think it's not just him, but everybody else. With the way they're built, with the athleticism, with the length that they have and also the youth, I just felt like this could be a special team. I felt like the fit would be spectacular, and I feel like I have a lot of years left to play. Some people say you kind of expedited [San Antonio's development] process. But you look at a team like [Oklahoma City], where outside of Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] and I think outside of [Alex Caruso], everybody else is pretty much on a rookie contract. I feel like we can do the same thing."

The Spurs officially acquired Fox from the Sacramento Kings on Monday as part of a three-team trade involving several players and draft picks. Fox learned the deal was done Sunday as he sat in a hotel room in Minnesota playing Call of Duty: Warzone with a friend ahead of the Kings' matchup against the Timberwolves.

"I got the call from [Kings co-owner Vivek Ranadive], [general manager] Monty West, Paul Johnson. Everybody ended up coming into my room, and we talked about it," Fox said. "But from that point on, I've been in contact with basically everybody in the Spurs organization and it has been great. It's been great since it happened, and I'm ready to get on the court."

Fox mentioned receiving a text from a member of the Spurs organization on Monday, as he watched stagnant offense down the stretch in Memphis sink the club in a 128-109 loss to the Grizzlies. The organization believes Fox alleviates many of the issues faced by San Antonio in that defeat.

"This is kind of what we missed," the text read, according to Fox, who added, "[San Antonio was] going through some of those dry spells offensively. Just adding another guy who could put the ball in the basket, who can get downhill and create for others, I feel like will help with that."

Veteran point guard Chris Paul agreed and has explained to Fox that one of the obstacles this young Spurs team will face will involve the team learning to flip plays to accommodate for the fact that Fox is left-handed.

"Excited to see what it looks like," Paul said. "I've known Fox for a while. To get a chance to play alongside him, it's going to be a lot of fun."

Fox, 27, has averaged 25.0 points, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season. Over the past three seasons, the eighth-year veteran has ranked in the top three in clutch time field goals, and he joins a Spurs squad that owns a record this season of 9-11 in clutch time games.

Wembanyama described the new addition as "a player that disrupts a lot of the opponent's game plan."

But in his Spurs debut, Fox just wants to fit in with his new team.

"Just try to get comfortable as much as I can with all the playcalls, all the terminology [and have teammates] try to get comfortable with me," Fox said. "What this team struggles with [are] some of the things that I can bring: more self-creation outside of Vic, being able to touch the paint, get into the teeth of the defense, being able to collapse defenses. I feel like even in games where I haven't played well, I still command attention. [With San Antonio] not losing a rotational piece [in the trade], I feel like we can be much better [as the season progresses]."

The Bucks have traded Khris Middleton to the Wizards, ending his tenure as one of their franchise cornerstones in a multiplayer deal that sends Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Bucks also sent rookie guard AJ Johnson, their first-round draft selection last year, and a pick swap to Washington, which dealt forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. and second-round draft compensation to Milwaukee, sources told Charania.

Middleton, 33, spent the past 11-plus seasons in Milwaukee and was one of the foundational players on the Bucks' championship team in 2021.

But he has been hampered by injuries in recent years and continues to recover from offseason surgery on both ankles, which sidelined him for the first 21 games of this season and has limited his production -- his 12.6 points per game is his lowest scoring average since 2013-14.

Middleton is owed $31.7 million this season and has a player option for next year worth $34 million. Kuzma is making $23.5 million this season, but his salary drops to $21.4 million next season, followed by $19.4 million in the final year of his deal.

To help Milwaukee build out its roster, Kuzma is reducing a portion of the trade bonus in his contract, sources told ESPN's Bobby Marks. The savings drops Milwaukee below the second apron, which will give the Bucks more flexibility to improve their roster.

The Bucks can now aggregate salaries to make a trade, which they were previously restricted in doing under the collective bargaining agreement. But to achieve that flexibility, the Bucks traded their longest-tenured player, a longtime running mate to franchise superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Middleton rose from G League player to NBA All-Star on the strength of his ability to play well off Antetokounmpo. The three-time All-Star averaged over 20 points four times in a five-year stretch that began with the 2017-18 season and ran through the 2021-22 campaign. He co-starred with Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday to lead Milwaukee to its first NBA title in 50 years with a six-game Finals victory over the Phoenix Suns to cap the 2020-21 post-bubble season.

But after the championship run, knee injuries slowed Middleton, as he hyperextended his knee during the 2021-22 regular season before suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee during the playoffs. He missed the start of the following season while recovering from offseason wrist surgery, then missed an additional 18 straight games during the year with knee soreness.

The ankle surgeries in the offseason delayed Middleton's season debut until December, and he has appeared in 23 games since, starting in seven.

Middleton owns the Bucks franchise record for career 3-pointers with 1,382. He had 12,586 points with Milwaukee to rank as the franchise's third-leading scorer, behind Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He ranks second in team history in games played (735) and minutes played (23,039) -- behind Antetokounmpo -- and third in assists (2,990).

Kuzma, 29, is averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 rebounds on 42% shooting this season, the lowest percentage of his career. He injects some youth to a Bucks roster that features three core players -- Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez -- in their 30s.

Kuzma, who is 6-foot-9, also can play in the frontcourt next to Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee's small-ball lineups. However, he has struggled throughout his career shooting from the outside; he is a career 33% 3-point shooter, including a career-low 28% this season.

Kuzma signed a four-year, $102 million deal with Washington in July 2023, a contract that came after he averaged 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 64 games. He has had a strong defensive season, according to ESPN Research, which tracked opponents shooting 42.7% against him this season. That falls within the top 25 players with at least 250 field goal attempts.

Johnson, 20, has not played much for the Bucks as a rookie and has spent most of the season in the G League.

Baldwin, 22 and raised in Wisconsin, has also been used sparingly, appearing in 22 games for the Wizards this season.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Two-time World Series shortstop Elvis Andrus, who has started more games at one position than any player in Texas Rangers franchise history, will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame this summer.

The Rangers also will unveil and dedicate a bronze statue of Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltré on Aug. 22 before a game against Cleveland.

The Rangers said Wednesday that Andrus will be the 27th member of the Hall of Fame that was established in 2003. Andrus will go in during a ceremony June 28 before a game against Seattle.

Andrus started 1,605 games at shortstop for Texas over 12 seasons, from his big league debut at age 20 in 2009 until he was traded to Oakland at the start of spring training in 2021. He was part of the Rangers' first two World Series teams in 2010 and 2011. He hit .274 for them, and his franchise-record 305 stolen bases are 133 more than any other player.

He also ranks top three in team history with his 1,652 total games, 6,366 at-bats, 983 hits and 48 triples.

After not playing last season, Andrus officially retired as a Ranger on Sept. 6. He remained with the Athletics until being traded to the Chicago White Sox during the 2022 season and played with them through 2023.

He will work as a pregame and postgame analyst for select televised games on the new Rangers Sports Network this season.

Beltré was a first-ballot induction last year into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Rangers retired his No. 29 jersey in 2019 and this summer will unveil his statue outside Globe Life Field, where there are already statues of Hall of Fame players Nolan Ryan and Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez.

Sweden selected Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins to its roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, replacing injured Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson.

Swedish national team coach Sam Hallam announced the roster update Tuesday. His team also recently added Philadelphia's Samuel Ersson to fill in for injured New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

Rakell, 31, leads his NHL club with 23 goals and ranks second with 45 points in 53 games this season. Karlsson is listed as week to week with a lower-body injury.

"'Raks' has just, quietly, had a really strong season," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who will also be behind the bench for the U.S., told reporters in Pittsburgh. "He's playing the game the right way. He's playing on both sides of the puck. He has a hardness to his game. He's stiff on the puck. He's physical, he's willing to block shots. He's playing defense. The offensive side, everybody sees. But he's committed to a lot of the subtleties that, on our mind, adds to winning. So, we couldn't be happier for him. We think he's so deserving."

Sweden's top international rival, Finland, recently made two replacements on its blue line after Dallas' Miro Heiskanen was injured and Toronto's Jani Hakanpaa ruled out. Heiskanen underwent knee surgery and is now considered month-to-month, Stars coach Peter DeBoer said.

Buffalo's Henri Jokiharju and the New York Rangers' Urho Vaakanainen took their places.

The United States has a couple of situations to watch with Vancouver's Quinn Hughes and Columbus' Zach Werenski banged up and missing game action.

"He's not playing tonight," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said in Buffalo of Werenski. "We'll continue to evaluate same as we do with everybody that's hurt or injured. We'll evaluate it and move forward."

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said after his team's overtime loss Monday night that Hughes "wanted to gut it out but not the smartest play to play him." Tocchet said Hughes was also out Tuesday night against Colorado.

Canada must still select a replacement for Alex Pietrangelo after the two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2014 Olympic gold medalist withdrew to tend to an ailment and prepare for the rest of the season with Vegas. Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, also a two-time Cup winner and part of Canada's Sochi team 11 years ago, is considered among the candidates to take Pietrangelo's spot, though the 35-year-old has only been back playing for a week since returning from a broken left ankle.

Practices for the 4 Nations Face-Off begin on Feb. 10, with game action on Feb. 12, Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 in Montreal before play shifts to Boston for the end of round-robin and the championship. The NHL-run tournament is taking the place of All-Star Weekend and is occurring as a slimmed-down version of a World Cup of Hockey a year before the 2026 Milan Olympics.

Mikel Arteta has described Kai Havertz as a genetic "powerhouse" and backed the Germany international to compensate for Arsenal's failure to sign a forward in January.

The Gunners made no secret of their desire add an attacking player in the midseason window following injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus but were unsuccessful after having a 40 million ($49.9m) bid rejected by Aston Villa for Ollie Watkins.

Jesus is set to be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery while Saka is not expected back until next month at the earliest, putting more focus on Havertz to play a key role as Arsenal challenge on three fronts.

Ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup semifinal second leg against Newcastle, Arteta backed Havertz -- a 65m signing from Chelsea in 2023 -- to handle the workload, which could theoretically mean starting every game for the rest of the season.

"I don't know ... it is a possibility [he could start every game]," Arteta said. "Maybe we go through that scenario and he scores another 15 or 18 goals? Can you imagine? That's a good scenario.

"Genetically, he is a powerhouse. He is so well-built. He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run in zone six, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything. And then he really looks after himself.

"When you see the professional, how he lives his life, it is immaculate. He does more than any other player there. That is not a coincidence. And then I think he is so intelligent.

"He knows what is good for him and what is not. We know how to manage him and we believe that when he says something it is for the right reason, not because he wants to avoid something. When something works, don't touch him."

Havertz has scored 15 goals and registered five assists in 33 games this season but has faced criticism for a series of bad misses, particularly during the period when Arsenal won just once in five games last month, including a 2-0 first-leg defeat to Newcastle.

"He has played a lot of football but his robustness, his availability is unbelievable," Arteta continued.

"When you ask him he feels better when he is playing every three days. Against Girona for example, we gave him a rest. And then he felt fresher.

"He then had a very demanding game physically against Manchester City for the role that he had to do. We will see how they are. Players give you a lot of information but if you are playing well and scoring goals, all this helps."

Arteta also claimed Arsenal will soon appoint a permanent sporting director to replace Edu, who resigned in November and is set to take up a prominent role leading the multi-club model spearheaded by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis after completing six months of gardening leave.

Sources have told ESPN that the Gunners have now identified a shortlist of candidates to consider alongside interim sporting director Jason Ayto, who stepped up following Edu's exit.

"The decision I think will be done relatively quickly, whether it's Jason or somebody else I don't know but I think that decision will be done quite early," Arteta added.

Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia has completed a loan move to Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Malacia was the first signing of Erik ten Hag's two-and-a-half year tenure at United. He joined from Feyenoord in a 13 million ($16m) deal in July 2022.

However, the Netherlands defender was unable to hold down a regular starting spot and had an extended period on the sidelines with a knee injury, holding him to 47 appearances in all competitions.

Malacia's loan departure comes two days after United completed the signing of left-back Patrick Dorgu from Serie A club Lecce

Sources told ESPN that United agreed a fee of 30m ($31.1m) plus a possible 5m in performance-related bonuses with Lecce.