Saturday marks a new chapter for Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers as this season’s playoff run begins. General manager Rob Pelinka landed Doncic in the biggest trade in NBA history as L.A. locked in their future after LeBron James retires.
For the time being, the 26-year-old gets to play with James in his 22nd season with the hopes of winning a championship. Pulling off a move of this magnitude takes time to gel, especially for Doncic, who thought he was a Dallas Maverick for the entirety of his career.
However, the five-time All-NBA guard seems to be adjusting to his new team and appears ready to move on. Although, that has proven to be challenging given the constant painful narratives coming out of Dallas, he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews:
“I mean, it’s painful, depends how you take it. Mostly it came from Dallas, so I didn’t want to talk back. But, I don’t really read that much stuff. I’m just trying to focus on my journey.”
It is admirable for Doncic to take the high road on this given all the negative comments floating around trying to rationalize why the Mavericks traded him. Those statements are still coming out this week, with Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison continuing to push the notion of “defense wins championships” when trying to rationalize trading a 26-year-old superstar that just took them to the NBA Finals.
Doncic was asked about Harrison’s comments and is clearly tired of hearing them:
“It’s just sad the way he’s talking right now. I never say anything bad about him and I just want to move on. The fans, my ex-teammates, I always keep in my heart. It’s time for me to move on from that.”
Doncic continued on by mentioning that he has not spoken to Harrison since the trade and the Mavericks general manager did not reach out when this blockbuster deal was finalized. Ultimately, it was a tumultuous ending to what was seemingly projected to be a bigger icon than Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.
Fortunately, Pelinka was able to land his newest star for years to come while also putting them in the mix to win a title this season.
Luka Doncic expresses desire to stay loyal to organization
The Lakers cannot get complacent as Luka Doncic only has next season remaining on his current contract. So, making the right roster decisions in the near future will be vital.
However, Doncic expressed his desire to remain loyal to whatever organization he plays for and seems committed to L.A.
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