Luka Doncic Blatantly Ignores Mavs GM After 40-Lbs Weight Gain Causes Rift In Dallas Locker Room

After the Mavs had the remarkable run to the NBA Finals last season, GM, Nico Harrison laid a challenge for the whole team. “But it’s one thing if you try to get a little bit better, tinker around the edges. Or are you trying to massively overhaul. When you don’t make the playoffs, like last year, you’re a little more desperate. When you go to the Finals, now it’s like how can we get 10 to 15 percent better. I don’t think it’s a major swing,” he had said. He also had one prediction: “Our core, I don’t see much changing out of that, but we’re always going to try to get better. That’s just the nature of our job.” However, the change came. And it was not an ordinary one.

Luka Doncic’s trade to the Lakers is touted as one of the most stunning the NBA has ever seen. So much so that the ripple effects went beyond the NBA realm. Even Patrick Mahomes, known to be a fan of the Mavs, tweeted, “I’m sick.” What happened?

Officially it was concerns over Doncic’s defense that prompted Harrison to swap the 25-year-old offensive wizard for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, rising guard Max Christie, and a future first-round draft pick. “I believe that defense wins championships,” Harrison told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.” However, according to the NBA insiders, Serious concerns about Luka Doncic’s fitness and commitment, with a $US345 million Supermax extension looming, were at the heart of the decision. But the most astonishing part?

It was kept under the warps tightly. Even coach Jason Kidd did not know about it, Harrison revealed. “We kept it between us… J-Kidd didn’t know about it, but J-Kidd and I are aligned… I felt good about it making sense to where we’re trying to go,” he said. But looks like keeping it that much of a secret did not sit well with Luka Doncic.

According to Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News, Harrison left a text and phone message but Doncic didn’t respond to any of those. “My guess is he probably doesn’t want to talk to me,” the GM told Townsend. And why would he? Look at last summer’s biggest trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns.

It also had a similar situation where Towns had no idea about the move. But the Timberwolves GM Tim Connelly more than made up for that. Instead of texting or calling Towns to inform the GM straightaway headed to his house where he was sitting with his father and three of his closest friends. Town had later revealed that in the Roommates Show leaving the hosts spellbound. Goes without saying that the player himself was also moved by the gesture.

“It was gangsta. I ain’t gonna lie. He came to my house. I respect it. Honestly, it’s a tough situation, regardless of what was going to happen. The fact that it happened that way, I gotta give him respect. It was me, three of my closest friends and my pops. So, shout out to him. He came to my house, by himself with five dudes there who could have just started spazzing out and crashed out. So, I gotta give him respect for that, for sure,” Towns said. Harrison probably wasn’t gangsta enough to do so.

If the roles were reversed, one could probably understand that the former Nike exec also had a fair reason to be less communicative. Luka Doncic being the cornerstone of the Mavs’ championship bid, has to show leadership on and off the court. But reports suggest he returned 40 lbs heavier than last season. At 270 lbs, Doncic is now the 7th heaviest active player in the NBA.

An ESPN report read: “The Mavericks were motivated to move Doncic because of his constant conditioning concerns, sources told MacMahon. There had been significant frustration within the organisation about Doncic’s lack of discipline regarding his diet and conditioning, which team sources considered a major factor in his injury issues. Though Doncic was relatively lean by his standards when he reported to camp, his weight ballooned to the high 260s (118kg+) early this season, sources said.” That caused some friction in the franchise as recently revealed by a Dallas-centric journalist.

Luka Doncic’s weight gain caused a rift within the Mavs, claims ESPN reporter

Remember the viral scenes after the Mavs’ WCF win? Remember the backstage moment between Doncic and his father? Yes, that! Footage showed how the Vice President of the organization took a beer can off of Doncic’s hands, leaving him puzzled. That was a silent indication from the organization that Doncic must have the right discipline even after winning. These habits were noticed by the Dallas front office, which created a Cold War with Luka’s ‘body team’.

Now that’s the term Tim MacMahon of ESPN used on the latest episode of the Hoops Collective podcast. Talking about the smaller details of the whole event, MacMahon revealed, “There was a lot of frustration about a lot of things within the Mavericks, and the work in relationship with that team, I don’t think, was the with Luka’s quote unquote body team was not the strongest.” By body team, he meant Doncic’s personal trainer, nutritionists and day-to-day caregivers.

But there’s a solution to that as well and it is in LA. On a recent episode of Sportscenter, Kendrick Perkins called out the weight issue of Doncic. “The great thing about it is that he’s going to team up with a guy, LeBron James, who is known to be one of the best, if not the best, when it comes down to taking care of your body and being a professional,” Perks highlighted. “I’m pretty sure Bron is going to take Luka under his wing and teach him how to be a true professional. And the one person that Luka Doncic will listen to is one of the greatest players to ever step foot on the basketball court.”

How exactly will that unravel is yet to be seen. Doncic’s debut for the Lakers is still some time away. A major work will go down to get his fitness and sharpness back before that. If this trade insult by the Mavs doesn’t fuel Doncic to get back to his best, then there probably isn’t anything else that will.