It’s not often that a superstar gets traded at the age of 25 without requesting it, but that was the case last week when the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster deal for Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
Doncic has had arguably the best start to a career in NBA history and led the Mavericks to the Finals just last season. They had concerns about his conditioning and work ethic before signing him to a supermax deal though, so general manager Nico Harrison and ownership pulled the trigger on a historic trade that sent Doncic to L.A.
Not only did the Mavericks trade Doncic, but they’re making it very clear why and are not holding back. In an interview with Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News, new Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont called out Doncic’s work ethic compared to other NBA greats:
“In my mind, the way teams win is by focus, by having the right character, by having the right culture, and having the right dedication to work as hard as possible to create a championship-winning outcome. And if you’re not doing that, you’re going to lose. If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq[uille O’Neal] — they worked really hard every day, with a singular focus to win,” he said. “And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks.
“That’s who we want. I’m unwavering on this. The entire organization knows this. This is how I operate outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.”
Putting Shaquille O’Neal in that mix was an interesting choice considering him and Kobe Bryant were famously at odds about the former’s poor work ethic, which led to him similarly being traded to the Miami Heat.
Harrison has received a lot of criticism for this trade, but Dumont is supporting his general manager for trading a 25-year-old generational superstar:
“I’ve said it all along: In Nico we trust,” Dumont said. “You have to respect the track record. You have to respect his intellect. You have to respect his relationships and his judgment and his point of view and the way he communicates.”
“I respect that. Our whole family respects it.”
The Mavericks had their reasons for making the trade, but their comments after have only added fuel to the fire as Doncic begins his new journey with the Lakers.
The Slovenian star made it clear at his introductory press conference that he is motivated to win championships in L.A. and that motivation is only growing with each comment coming from his former team. The Lakers and Mavericks will square off two more times this season, first in L.A. on Feb. 25 and then in Dallas on April 9.
Luka Doncic to make Lakers debut on Monday?
Luka Doncic has been out since Christmas due to a calf strain but has been progressing well and all reports indicate he will make his Lakers debut on Monday against the Utah Jazz.
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