NBA Rumors: How Luka Doncic ‘Terrified’ Mavs Before Trade To Lakers

Luka Doncic was named an All-NBA First-Team player in five of his first six seasons. He finished inside the top five in MVP voting in three of those campaigns and led the Maverick to the Finals last season.

So, why was Dallas open to trading the generational guard, who will turn 26 years old later this month?

As it turns out, Doncic was starting to fall out of favor in the Mavericks organization. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon explained why in the aftermath of Dallas reportedly trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“This was about the Mavericks betting against Luka Doncic being able to fulfill his potential,” MacMahon said on “SportsCenter.” “There has been extreme frustration building in that franchise over the years, especially this season, about his lack of commitment to conditioning, to diet, to the lifestyle that’s necessary at this point to be available on a consistent basis. When he went out with that calf injury on Christmas, there wasn’t sympathy within the Mavericks organization. There was frustration, even anger. They felt like he hasn’t done the things to position himself to fulfill his potential and be available. They were terrified of making a supermax $350 million commitment to him this summer. They felt like they needed to get out in front of that. So, they called the Lakers and this deal came together.”

Not only did the Mavericks decide to end their relationship with Doncic, but they also stripped the five-time All-Star of an imminent maximum payday. Since he was traded, Doncic is no longer eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer and might be forced to settle for a lighter deal — both years and value — over the offseason.

Doncic will have an opportunity to make Dallas regret its decision alongside LeBron James, but it’s no sure thing that those elite talents will work well together on the court.