I guess the wild thing is they can't really say "we want you to undergo this rigorous physical fitness regimen to play at 220" until he signs an extension, can they... at which point they have no leverage ... lol.
Luka a Laker/Mavs Misery
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Every hit piece Nico keeps leaking just reeks of desperation.
Padrino
All-Star
I have no problem with the Mavericks wanting their superstar to take his health and professionalism more seriously. That should always be the default position of any franchise. But they are really pushing this narrative hard in the wake of the trade, and it comes across as a naked attempt to defend the indefensible. A great many organizations have put up with more for considerably less talented players. Luka's a brash 25 year old Slovenian living in America for the first time. Figure out how to appropriately mentor him. But don't trade a future first ballot Hall of Famer because he likes beer!!
Dallas really should keep this private. I actually think their concerns are legitimate but it's a failure on their part just as much as it is his. And they've now gone so negative if he wins a chip and Dallas crashes and burns with AD they're never going to live it down. But if they had just kept quiet and Luka blew his achilles they could have then done the "oh god this is terrible, but it's what we were concerned about and why we moved on" then and only then.
I feel like odds are all this BS is going to motivate Luka to do something about his issues. Mavs probably gave him the wakeup call he needed and LA is probably as good a place as any to get kicked into the fitness lifestyle (I know, its very weird we're talking about this with a professional athlete, but so be it).
I feel like odds are all this BS is going to motivate Luka to do something about his issues. Mavs probably gave him the wakeup call he needed and LA is probably as good a place as any to get kicked into the fitness lifestyle (I know, its very weird we're talking about this with a professional athlete, but so be it).
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Luka seems a bit like Shaq, dominant even if his body is not a temple.
But Nico never talked to any teams but the Lakers...
What's really crazy is you can't even make the "HE DOESN'T WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS BECAUSE HE"S FAT" argument with a WCF appearance and a Finals appearance just last season.
And their continued efforts to justify this, whenever the real story comes out down the line, it's going to be a downright shocking revelation.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
coolhandluke
Starter
Vladfather playing 5D chess that us mere mortals couldn’t even imagine. Oh, he also offered a contract to LaVine back then.
ockingsfan
Starter
Nico probably figured after the Wolves turned them down for their 23 year old All star, that NO one else could possibly want fat Luka. So to save time and face, he just went straight to the Lakers and asked for their 32 year old star.
NO need for a bidding war, because Luka was a fat loser! If they waited another day or 2 and word got out that Luka was fat, they would had wound up with much less in return.
Barring a catastrophic injury to Luka, this will go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
"I think him, his representatives are gonna huddle up. I think they're gonna have some very hard conversations. It's not out of the realm of possibility that one game was the last time we've seen AD this season"
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 4, 2025
- Shams on AD 👀
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )
pic.twitter.com/KAfCaRixaT
Klutch gonna get AD out of there as fast as they can and in this case they’re completely justified lmfao
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
From 2027-2030, the Mavericks do not control any of their own 1st-round picks:
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) March 4, 2025
2027 = Hornets (top-2 protected)
2028 = Thunder (unprotected swap)
2029 = Rockets (unprotected)
2030 = Spurs (unprotected swap)
Everyone assumed Luka Doncic would be around when these moves occurred. pic.twitter.com/JkLIETQKzX
yeah but OMax should be a superstar by then so they’ll be fine.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
What hell hath Nico Harrison wrought? https://t.co/stbDxJXvmU
— Coach Lew (@CoachLewGrizz) March 4, 2025
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison on Kyrie Irving: "His work ethic and absolute dedication to his craft, it’s cut from the cloth of greats. I know it, I lived it, and I see the same ferocity and passion in him that I saw in Kobe."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2025
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/2msUzeyJtb
compare this to how the dude talked about Luka.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Yet the obese beer drinking slob is the unanimously better, more important, and now more healthy player.
I hope Kyrie bails on the Mavs as soon as possible. AD too for that matter.
Not only that, I don't get why Nico and the new Mavs owner keep referencing Laker players like Kobe and Shaq when (a) they just traded Luka to the Lakers and (b) the Mavs HAVE a homegrown champion in Dirk. It just seems completely tone deaf.
fansinceday1
Starter
Lakers just came back to beat the Knicks and Luka was ON FIRE. I am just completely sick. The lakers were dead in the water and then the NBA worked their magic and got this guy onto the lakers and now the lakers have won 7 in a row. I can already see where this is going.
megapoxy
Starter
Refs were also there when needed... a clear charge wasn't called for Lebron that led to a Vincent wide open corner 3. Then Lebron gets fouls in his favor non stop at crunch time. Another day ending with "y".
fansinceday1
Starter
exacly. Any other player and that is a guaranteed foul. Lebron clearly ran over Brunson.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Mavs owner Patrick Dumont says the Luka trade was made to help Dallas improve for the future
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 13, 2025
“You have Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis, and either Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively… That's gonna put fear into a lot of teams.”
pic.twitter.com/oOUCjdlMRd
This is why the Kings front office was actually smart to not have a presser after firing Mike Brown lol
Joshyjosh31
Starter
I mean you can explain during a coach no matter who it is let alone after what happened that week. There’s no explaining trading a top 4 player for a 32 year old injury prone player that can’t lead a team past the first round
Also Nico said it was for the short term you know h the nba is made they can’t get there scripted story straight
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
HUH???
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Mavericks execs Nico Harrison and Rick Welts are holding a roundtable this AM with selected Dallas media members.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 15, 2025
Cameras/audio recording devices were not permitted for Harrison's first session with local reporters since the Luka Dončić trade.
More NBA: https://t.co/IIIlAloJCf pic.twitter.com/mHeVLMn8BQ
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Mavs GM Nico Harrison and CEO Rick Welts just wrapped up an hour-long session with select members of Dallas-based media.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 15, 2025
“Defense wins championships” was the phrase uttered most often.
Will have full coverage on @espn this afternoon.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
.@tim_cato said on @DLLS_Mavs that Mavs CEO Rick Welts compared the Luka Dončić trade to the his former team Warriors trading Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut in 2012.
— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) April 15, 2025
Unbelievably out of touch.
lolohnooooooooooo
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