After the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, there were multiple reports that the Mavericks traded him, at least in part, because they were unhappy with his lack of dedication to his health and fitness. Some saw those reports as an attempt by the Mavs to deflect the criticism they received for giving the Lakers their newest franchise player.
Doncic dropped lots of weight and got into much better shape during the offseason, and he is off to a magnificent start this season. Earlier this week, Nico Harrison, the general manager who engineered the Doncic trade, was fired by Dallas.
The relationship between Doncic and Dallas head coach Jason Kidd may be strained, as, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Doncic hasn’t acknowledged Kidd in recent months. Charania gave a possible reason — that Kidd was one member of the Mavs who wasn’t happy with Doncic’s alleged lack of conditioning (h/t Lakers Daily).
“Luka Doncic hasn’t acknowledged Jason Kidd since he’s been back — since they’ve played against each other, in those games, Lakers-Mavs games,” Charania said. “I think there’s an understanding there that Jason Kidd also wasn’t one of the ones that was thrilled with Luka Doncic’s conditioning — different things — near his exit.”
Doncic and Kidd once had a close relationship before February’s trade. In May, the coach said that he texted the superstar the morning after the trade, but that it was the last time he communicated with Doncic.
In the aftermath of that deal, the Mavericks failed to reach the NBA playoffs last season despite receiving superstar big man Anthony Davis and emerging 3-and-D wing Max Christie in that exchange. They have started 3-9 this season, and their outlook is rather gloomy just 17 months after reaching the NBA Finals with Doncic.
The Lakers, meanwhile, have an 8-4 record even though LeBron James hasn’t played yet this season due to sciatica. Doncic is averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.9 assists a game to start this season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Jason Kidd was critical of Luka Doncic’s fitness before trade
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
