Luka Doncic is still living in the aftermath of the Dallas Mavericks‘ decision to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of the season. While a move like that was considered unthinkable for many, the Mavericks committed to it because of concerns about Luka’s long-term health.
A lot of these concerns were born from Doncic’s habits, such as his affinity for smoking hookah and drinking beer. This was attacked as a work-ethic issue, something former teammates Seth Curry and Josh Green have taken objection to in an interview with The Sporting News.
“From my vantage point, you knew what you were going to get from Luka,” Curry said. “Practice, games, when the ball went up, you knew he was going to show up and be ready to play when he was healthy. I didn’t see any issues, really. He’s a great competitor. When practice came around and the ball went up and guys were ready to compete, he played as hard as anybody. One of the best competitors I’ve ever played with.”
“At the end of the day, he’s played World Cups, he’s played Olympics, back-to-back-to-back years. You have to be in pretty good shape to be able to play that,” said Green. “I think for someone to be 24 years old and be able to take a team to the Finals, it’s impressive. The last two years, he took a big leap being a leader. The guys really followed that.”
Curry played two seasons alongside Doncic across two different stints, while Green spent the first four years of his career alongside Doncic on the Mavericks. They’re both on the Charlotte Hornets now, but wanted to stick up for their former teammate who’s been villainized as lazy and fat.
People have criticized Doncic’s work ethic for years, so it’s unsurprising to see these narratives come to the forefront now that the Mavericks had to justify trading him away. Even the Lakers are hoping Doncic fine-tunes his training and conditioning by learning from LeBron, so it’s also unfair to say there were no warning signs.
I just don’t think it’s believable to say that a player who averaged 33-9-9 last season and led a team to the Finals had a very bad work ethic or was extremely out of shape. If he did that while out of shape, just imagine what he can do on the Lakers now that he has all the motivation necessary to be in the best of shape.
Quentin Grimes Also Stuck Up For Luka Doncic
Another departure from the Mavericks over the winter was Quentin Grimes, who’s agent reportedly requested a trade hours after the Mavericks moved on from Doncic.
Grimes is a restricted free agent and didn’t trust staying on the Mavericks through the offseason and got quickly moved to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he’s currently thriving.
Grimes also was asked about Doncic’s work ethic and eight issues, boisterously supporting Luka.
“It’s just a narrative around him. Once a narrative gets thrown out there, everybody just runs with it. Whatever they’re saying, if he’s 270 (pounds) and he gets to the finals, let him be 270 then. It’s crazy.”
Grimes averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on the Mavericks this season before being traded. He’s averaged 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 15 games on the 76ers since, potentially being yet another bad move Mavs fans can hold over Nico Harrison’s head.
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