When Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers, we all knew it would be a disaster for the Mavericks. What we didn’t expect was how quickly that prediction came true.
The LA Lakers were ranked 5th in the Western Conference before Doncic joined, but they have risen to 2nd place since he joined (as of March 8). Meanwhile, the Mavericks, who were once the favorites to win the championship, are now in danger of not making the Play-in round.
When Doncic left, the Dallas Mavericks leadership immediately directed criticism at the Slovenian star. However, the 1999-born guard has now proven what CEO Nico Harrison , owner Patrick Dumont and some others said about him to be completely wrong.
Mavericks management criticizes Luka Doncic: Bad defense, weak physique, many bad habits
Mavericks Can’t Build a Championship-Class Defense With Luka Doncic
The Dallas Mavericks had a lot of negative things to say about Doncic when he moved to the Lakers. General manager Nico Harrison said that the team decided to let Doncic go because they would not be able to build a world-class defense with the Slovenian star as the core.
“I believe that great defense wins championships,” Harrison told ESPN’s Tim McMahon. “Having a world-class defensive player and an all-around player with a new defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”
Harrison’s concerns about the Mavericks’ defense (with Doncic) show that he doesn’t understand his team at all. Last year’s regular season, Dallas had the sixth-best defense in the league. When they reached the playoffs, they were even in the top five. All of that was thanks to Doncic, even though he wasn’t always consistent. It’s also worth remembering that the 1999-born point guard had a great defensive performance in the American Airlines Center team’s win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals (against the Celtics).
But the reason Doncic has been inconsistent at times (which Harrison either intentionally or unintentionally forgot) is because he has been through a series of different injuries. Doncic had constant bleeding in his shins throughout the playoffs and had to have painkiller injections in his chest just to be able to play in the Finals.
In fact, the Mavericks’ defense hasn’t really improved since parting ways with Doncic. The Dallas team is ranked 25th in defense. Meanwhile, the Lakers have proven they can defend at a high level. The Crypto.com Arena team has improved significantly since signing Doncic, becoming the No. 1 defense in the league.
Doncic’s fitness is too big of an issue to carry the team to victory
According to leaked information from the Mavericks, Doncic’s weight was close to 260 pounds this season. Whether or not the information was true at the time, it certainly isn’t true now.
The Mavericks also revealed other issues with Doncic’s off-court habits. Sam Amick of The Athletic published an article stating that Doncic’s hobbies of drinking beer and smoking shisha have been maintained since he first joined the NBA in 2018.
Doncic is not the first player to have bad habits off the court. LeBron James enjoys red wine, Michael Jordan is a cigar connoisseur and Larry Bird enjoys a beer after games. Yet Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont still uses these players as examples to criticize his former star.
“If you look at the greatest players in the league like (Michael) Jordan, (Larry) Bird, Kobe (Bryant), Shaq (O’Neal), they worked really hard every day, with the sole goal of winning,” Durmont said.
Dumont’s criticism is misplaced in many ways. Doncic has worked hard to improve since entering the NBA. As a rookie, the Slovenian couldn’t score 73 points per game — but he does now. He was a terrible 3-pointer early in his career. Now, however, it’s one of Doncic’s most feared weapons. He’s also improved his skills around the rim and his ability to read his teammates’ passes.
Doncic’s fitness concerns were also addressed by the Slovenian guard’s father, Sasa. Sasa said:
“I repeat, an individual once said that Luka was not fit enough. However, I can confirm that fitness is not his problem. Luka has played about 100 games with an average of nearly 40 minutes/game and always had 2-3 players with him.”
The stats back up Sasa’s claim. Last year, Luka Doncic appeared in 92 games (70 regular season, 22 playoffs), according to Gil McGregor of Sporting News. Doncic averaged 37.9 minutes per game in the regular season and over 40 minutes per game in the playoffs. In total, he played 3,524 minutes, the most in a season last year.
Doncic isn’t one of the NBA’s most athletic players, and the Mavericks’ criticism has merit. The Slovenian star could certainly be better if he took his body more seriously. In any case, Harrison’s criticism has turned into motivation for Doncic.
“A beast has awakened inside Luka Doncic,” said ESPN journalist Dave McMenamin, a source close to Doncic.
As for the Mavericks, they thought Doncic had a physical problem but ironically brought in someone with an even more worrying condition: Anthony Davis. As of March 8, Davis had only played 31 minutes before getting injured. This player is 6 years older than Doncic and is at a much higher risk of getting sick.
Mavericks act to avoid Doncic leaving in free agency
Nico Harrison believes the Mavericks decided to trade Doncic to the Lakers in early 2025 because they were concerned he could leave the team as a free agent.
“We really felt like we were ahead of the curve this summer, with Doncic being supermax eligible and also one year away from free agency,” Harrison said. “We knew a lot of teams were ready to sign him when the opportunity presented itself.”
However, this concern is unfounded. The reason is that the Mavericks are the team that can offer the highest salary to Doncic, so as long as they want to keep him, he will not go anywhere. The Slovenian star himself also denied wanting to leave Dallas.
During the Lakers’ introductory press conference, when asked if Doncic or his agent ever said he would not sign a super-max contract with the Mavericks, the 1999-born star replied: “Absolutely not. The answer is very simple.”
There’s no indication Doncic ever thought about leaving Dallas.
While the Mavericks tried to tarnish Doncic’s image, he made them look worse by responding very intelligently. Not only did he play brilliantly and help the Lakers win, he also did not fall into his former team’s trap.
When he first appeared in Los Angeles, Doncic was asked about his reaction to the Mavericks’ comments. He replied: “I always choose to behave properly.”
Unfortunately, the Dallas Mavericks failed to do so.
