The Dallas Mavericks hated two things Luka Dončić loves — beer and hookah, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported, which factored into their shocking decision to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Make no mistake, the people who witnessed Dončić’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism. They call him lazy. They talk about the weight issues that were such a frequent frustration within their walls. They mention the social habits that The Athletic has reported on — such as a taste for beer and hookah — which have been a point of concern for NBA types since he was a 19-year-old star for Real Madrid who was entering the NBA Draft. They predict his basketball demise, highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five years or so,” Amick wrote.
Fans made fun of the viral moment of Michael Finley, the team’s vice president of basketball operations, taking away the beer from Dončić’s hands after the Mavericks clinched the Western Conference Finals last season.
@thescore They couldn’t let Luka have a celebratory beer!? 😅🍻 [via x/grantafseth]
“The whole thing from Finn was, ‘Dude you’re going to be on camera right? You don’t want to be holding the beer when you’re doing these interviews,” former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban said on the “Roommates Show” in August last year.
What looked like a light-hearted moment was, in retrospect, the beginning of the end to the Luka era in Dallas.
Nearly a month after that shocking trade, the overwhelming sentiment around the NBA remains the same, according to Amick.
“To put it bluntly, the vast majority of people I’ve spoken to within the league about this deal continue to believe that Dallas made a grave mistake,” Amick wrote.
Luka: ‘Closure is Going to Take a While’
Like a scorned lover, Dončić showed the Mavericks what they are missing — and going to miss for the rest of his NBA career — a triple-double machine that can affect the game in so many ways.
Dončić recorded his first triple-double in Lakers uniform with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists to draw the first blood against his old team 107-99 on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Los Angeles, his new home. He added three steals and two block as if to show the Mavericks he could play defense, too.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison seemingly took a shot at Dončić in the aftermath of the trade when he said the reason why they did it is because he told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he believes “defense wins championships.”
Dončić and Harrison did not acknowledge each other before and after the game, per multiple reports.
“I’m just glad it’s over, honestly,” Dončić told reporters. “It was just so weird, the moments. Felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m glad we got the win.”
But he made it clear this win didn’t magically erase the pain of the trade. But it’s a good start.
“The closure is going to take a while, I think,” he told reporters.
Mavericks Star Offers Sympathy For Ex-Teammate
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks in the loss with 35 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Irving said it was “weird” facing Dončić for the first time, but it was “fun” like their past scrimmages in Dallas. They remain close friends and sympathized with him and offered emotional support right away when he first learned of the shocking trade.
“It was easy to complement him while he’s having an MVP season — an MVP-caliber season,” Irving told reporters after the game. “He carried us a lot (when) I was injured or hurt, and … carried the burden and responsibility. So I think for me, there was respect there before we played together. But then playing with him, he’s just an innocent kid. (And) at the same time, he’s just ultra talented, (and the) whole world’s in front of him. You want to protect people like that too, because I feel like sometimes people come at him crazy, which is unnecessary.”
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