Luka Doncic Discussion: The Magic Is Back! Luka Magic!

somewhere I read about him playing ball year round for Olympics, etc, and needed some downtime. Sometime your body let's you know whether you want it to or not.

I could see them being tired about his complaining, his drinking, his conditioning, his commitment to defense, etc, and if they felt he didn't fit into the culture they wanted to build making that difficult choice, but me thinks Kidd would have rather worked with him to get there with maturity vs pull the plug.

But they didn't do bad in the trade if guys were playing. Time will tell, but to give up on a young star like this seems to indicate there's more to the story. It can't be only what they've said IMHO. Maybe he started popping off to management or getting grief from other players referencing double standards if Lufa wasn't falling in line, but everyone else had to. We'll see eventually.

 

I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little concerned about Doncic’s current weight, but the fact he’s still putting up decent numbers and making plays I think bodes well for us. When he gets in better playing shape (which just comes with more games) I think the rest of the league will be in trouble.

 

I think it's both true that it's insane that Dallas traded him away and that Luka still has a lot to prove/concerns

1) One reason he was on one leg is his conditioning - weight and flexibility significantly impact your injury rate across the board. Hard to imagine his calf injury wasn't at least increased in severity due to the mass he's carrying.
2) Dallas built a whole team in protecting Luka (and Kyrie Defensively) - Lots of rim protection and lengthy guys around those two
3) Still bonkers to think Dallas equivalent moves would have been the Lakers trading away Magic after the "tragic" Johnson Boston finals or Miami trading away Lebron after the Dallas Finals fiasco

 

they also made the conference finals a couple years back with a less obviously compensatory roster. he's just not as bad defensively as people say, imo.

call it the marc gasol phenomenon. people see hefty white and think he's barbecued chicken at all times when in fact his team defends better when he's on the floor.

edit: found this tidbit in the athletic story:

really wonder if this was just a nightmare personality pairing.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/61...-doncic-trade-lakers-mavericks-nico-harrison/
Luka never had serious injury, he just was out of shape

 

There is no justification for trading Luka Doncic. The Mavericks attempts to do so is nothing short of pathetic and embarrassing. I don’t want to hear the out of shape excuses. Shaq was always out of the shape and we won three titles with the man led by his dominance.

 

i think rob, jj, and luka are going to function nicely together. not because they're the same, but because they understand where each is coming from.

i still cannot believe this is reality.

 

To expect someone with a leg injury to come back in basketball shape is not clear thinking. Luka should come back around pretty fast but it will take time. Young players take time to develop, injuries take time to heal and getting your conditioning back takes even more time. It is always amazing to me how many expect it to happen overnight...lol.

 

It was Kobe who was upset about it the most. Shaq probably could have won at least 5 titles with the Lakers if he had the motor Kobe did.

 

Yeah, but we didn’t trade Shaq until he was already past his prime and the Kobe/Shaq relationship had gone south. That’s the difference.

Dallas traded Luka before he even hit his prime. It’s like if the Lakers had traded Shaq the year they got swept by the Jazz in 1998 or the Spurs in 1999, which would’ve been ridiculous.

 

He was a prodigy, that went pro at 15 years old. I'm sure he's been givien special treatment since he was a child, that's to be expected. 10 years of developing bad habits, could turn into an issue down the line. However ..I imagine from his perspective, he's proven himself to be an elite player in this league, doing things his way.

He's a Laker now, and Laker fans are different. Having lost some money, and being embarrassed, by being traded, for basically being deemed unprofessional, by the team that drafted him, at only 25, has to burn. I expect him to go hard this season, and be on a F you tour in the playoffs.

It's how he comes into camp next season, that's going to be either, a continuation of the love fest from Laker fans, or the end of the honeymoon. We are different.

We'll see how it plays..win me a chip, and I don't really give a damn, about the conditioning early season, just be ready to rock and roll in the playoffs.

 

https://www.lafbnetwork.com/nba/la-lakers/los-angeles-lakers-luka-doncic-recovery-plan/

might drop some unexpected games, but it's wise not to push this injury.

 

That’s fine we should be able to beat both Portland and Charlotte (assuming LeBron isn’t resting also).

 

hasn't portland been playing pretty well for a while now? i wouldn't overlook them, particularly on a b2b at their place. in fact, that one looks like a scheduled loss to the point where i'm not sure i don't just run all my guys tomorrow and concede that we probably lose in portland.

 

Portland is 23-32. If one of either Luka or LeBron is playing then we should beat them.

If they’re both out then yeah it’s probably a loss.