The Dallas Mavericks trading a 25-year-old Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers is arguably the biggest story in the NBA in the last decade. Even 48 hours after the monumental deal, people are still trying to figure out why the Mavericks took such a drastic step with a player many considered to be untouchable and a top-three player in the NBA.
Frustrations with Doncic’s weight and poor conditioning hit a fever pitch in Dallas this season. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed that the Mavs’ frustrations boiled over after he gained weight during training camp after suffering a calf injury and came into the season out-of-shape. MacMahon claims that this led the Mavericks to sideline Doncic for 11 days under the guise of a wrist injury to have him lose weight.
“This season, he missed 27 games, including the past six weeks since straining his left calf for the fourth time in three years. He gained weight while he was out, which frustrated team officials, sources said. The primary reasoning for an 11-day absence in late November, officially attributed to a right wrist sprain, was to provide Dončić time to shed weight after he had ballooned into the high 260s.”
Doncic’s weight seems to be one of the many reasons why he was pushed out of the organization. Mavericks GM Nico Harrison seems to be the sole mind behind this deal, only speaking to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka to execute this deal without even informing Mavs head coach Jason Kidd about the deal being in the works.
Harrison officially declared reasons citing defense and team culture to move Doncic out of the franchise. He’s now taken a ridiculous bet that Doncic will fail in LA and that the Mavs can win a title in the next three seasons with an aging core.
Is Trading Luka Doncic Because Of Weight And Work-Ethic Justified?
Mavericks fans would wholeheartedly reverse this trade if they could, but were the warning signs so alarming that the organization had to trade him mid-season in this fashion? Doncic has had conditioning issues for years, picking up minor injuries every season of his career but ultimately justifying his value by being one of the best players in the NBA when healthy and performing at a generational level in the Playoffs.
Not wanting to give a supermax to Doncic with these concerns does make sense. However, what doesn’t make sense is only speaking to the Lakers to get the deal done. Even with these concerns, there would have been a bidding war over a 25-year-old Doncic if teams in the NBA even had an inkling that he was available.
Doncic averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in Dallas over six-and-a-half seasons, the third-highest scoring average of all-time behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic averages 30.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 8.0 assists in 50 Playoff appearances for the Mavs, the second-highest scoring average of all-time behind Jordan.
He was producing at an unseen level while overweight and poorly conditioned. Now that the Mavericks have given him all the motivation in the world to get in shape, the Lakers might have genuinely landed another superstar who can keep them relevant for a decade.
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