Trading Luka Doncic was a move that caught everyone off guard, but it’s something the Mavericks had been thinking about for months before the deal. According to ESPN’s Marc Spears, the defining moment was the 2024 NBA Finals when Jaylen Brown shut down Doncic to an embarrassing degree.
“What he did to Luka in the Finals, shutting him down, guarding him full court, making it unbearable offensively, led Dallas to questioning Luka as the leader of the team, and questioning whether he was in shape or not.”
Doncic, drafted third overall in 2018, is widely viewed as one of the best young players in the game. In six and a half years in the NBA, Luka is averaging 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game on 46.9% shooting. He’s also a 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA player, and former Rookie of the Year.
For years, Doncic was happily leading the Mavericks and he even took them to the NBA Finals back in June. So when GM Nico Harrison suddenly traded him to the Lakers this February, it caused quite a reaction in the NBA community.
While fans were adamant that teams aren’t supposed to trade a player of Luka’s caliber, the Mavs justified the deal by calling out his fitness and conditioning. Doncic has struggled to stay in shape for his entire career and the Mavericks believe it cost them the title last year.
Specifically, it was Jaylen Brown who turned the Mavericks against their European superstar. In 154 possessions on Doncic, Brown held him to 21 points on 9-22 shooting (40.9%) and 2-8 shooting from three (25%). It was even worse for Doncic on the other end.
Defensively, Luka was abysmal throughout the playoffs and his inability to stay in front of his assignment cost the Mavericks when it mattered the most. The Celtics hunted him on offense and made it a point to exploit his limitations.
The Mavericks lost three times in a row to start the Finals and they never came close to challenging Boston. They had no answer for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who combined to average 43 points in five games.
Luka’s performance was so bad in terms of effort and defensive resistance, that he was blasted after the series by fans and experts alike. That series changed everything for Luka and the Mavericks lost trust that he could lead them to prosperity with such glaring limitations.
That’s not to mention the stories of Doncic’s conditioning like the one claim that he was pushing 300 pounds this season. Between his weight problems and the lack of defense, the Mavericks decided to move on from Doncic in favor of Anthony Davis, who is a champion and one of the league’s best interior defenders.
Only time will tell if the Mavs made the right decision, but at just 25 years old, the odds are that Luka Doncic will end up making his former team look foolish before it’s all said and done. Now that he’s got a fresh start and has been “unleashed” by the Mavericks’ disrespect, we can expect the best version of Doncic from now on and that’s scary news for the rest of the West.
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