Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison did the unthinkable when he decided to trade Luka Doncic, the face of the franchise, to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Not only did Harrison ship away the most beloved basketball player in the city during his prime, but he did so without getting the return many believe Doncic warranted.
Instead, the Mavericks got Davis, Max Christie, and one first-round pick back from the deal. In comparison, the Sacramento Kings got a total of six draft picks, including three first-rounders during their three-team trade with the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
Though Doncic is a generational superstar, Harrison had growing concerns about his conditioning and habits off of the court. Doncic would experience significant weight fluctuations throughout a season, a problem the organization attempted to address.
To try and take action, the Mavericks started making changes around Doncic in hopes that they would benefit him and make his conditioning more consistent. Per Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the Mavericks fired former director of player health and performance Casey Smith in 2023, and fired strength coach Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler after last season—all staffers that Doncic enjoyed working with.
"They get rid of everybody I like," Doncic told an ESPN source.
The Mavericks’ firings did not work. Per ESPN, Doncic wound up hiring his own personal staff before last season, bringing in Slovenian national team strength coach Anže Maček, physiotherapist Javier Barrio Calvo and Real Madrid nutritionist Lucia Almendros. This only increased the frustrations in the Mavericks organization while not improving Doncic's health.
According to the ESPN report, Doncic's weight had reached over 260 pounds, when Dallas believed his ideal weight was 245 pounds. With Doncic already missing 27 games this season, including 11 days to lose weight, Harrison ultimately decided to pull the plug and trade him to the Lakers.
In turn, the Lakers reportedly used the Mavericks concerns against them during trade negotiations. The original trade saw the Mavericks getting Dalton Knecht and multiple first-rounders for Doncic, but Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly convinced Harrison that these concerns made Doncic a risk, lowering the trade return for the Mavericks.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mavs Axed Multiple Staffers Luka Doncic 'Liked' in Desperation for Conditioning Changes.
