Nothing motivates the greats quite like the quest to prove someone wrong. When the Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers, it was followed up by spin out of Dallas about GM Nico Harrison and the franchise’s concerns about Doncic’s lack of commitment to conditioning, taking care of his body and defense.
This summer, we have seen “skinny” Luka on social media as he works out to get in shape. Doncic spoke about that with Men’s Health Magazine.
” Just visually, I would say my whole body looks better…
“Every summer I try my best to work on different things. Obviously, I’m very competitive. This summer was just a little bit different, you know. It kind of motivated me to be even better…
“Obviously, be the best that I can be, take care of myself. This year, with my team, I think we did a huge step. But this is just the start, you know. I need to keep going. Can’t stop.”
The Mavericks were not wrong to have concerns about Doncic’s conditioning, it certainly has not been consistent throughout his career. (It’s still a massive leap from having concerns to trading a top-five player in the world as he enters his prime because of it.) Doncic has improved his conditioning in the past, but due to injuries and other reasons, it has never stayed at the level Dallas’ Harrison — a Kobe Bryant guy — expected.
What should scare the Mavericks is that they have just become the motivation he needed to genuinely change. If the disrespect from Dallas, combined with being on a new team and watching LeBron James’ commitment to his body and conditioning daily, changes Doncic’s habits, then the Mavericks have unleashed a monster on the league.
Doncic had spent the summer back in Europe with family and friends, but landed back in the United States in the last 48 hours for a Jordan Brand promotional shoe tour. After that tour, he returns to Slovenia to lead his national team in the EuroBasket that starts at the end of this month.
Doncic is eligible for a contract extension this summer: On Aug. 2, the Lakers can offer him a four-year, $223 million extension. They will, and Doncic is expected to re-sign with the team, although most likely on a three-year, $165 million max contract (or three plus a player option) because in three years he will have reached 10 years of service in the league and then can sign for up to 35% of the salary cap (the most the Lakers could offer right now is 30%). Expect that deal to be finalized before the season starts (possibly this week, while he is in the USA on a shoe tour, or perhaps closer to Lakers training camp).
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