When the Dallas Mavericks traded their franchise superstar Luka Doncic, they blamed his poor fitness and work ethic as the reason for his departure. However, in a chat with the prestigious New York Times, former Mavs player Quentin Grimes, who now plays for the Sixers, refuted those claims from Dallas that the former Real Madrid player had developed poor work habits
He’s now a target! Luka Doncic faces ruthless attacks
“It’s just a narrative around him. And once a narrative is thrown out there, everybody follows it,” Grimes said. “Whatever they say, if he weighs 122 kilos and gets to the final, let him weigh 122 kilos. It’s crazy all this,” he said.
Grimes, 24, played 47 games with the Mavericks this season, averaging 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 46.3% shooting. He started 12 games for the Texas franchise before being traded in February as part of the deal for Caleb Martin.
A false justification from the Mavs
Grimes didn’t play with Doncic for long, but he saw enough to recognize that the Mavericks’ claims are nothing more than a false justification for trading him overnight. “Luka was always in the gym and I know that because I saw him working to improve his game every time I went there to train”.
These claims directly contradict statements made by Mavericks executives, who claimed that Doncic was showing worrying tendencies when it came to staying in shape and honing his technique. According to Dallas, Luka did not contribute to the team’s competitive culture and set a bad example for his teammates.
They didn’t want to renew Luka for 346.3 million
These trends led the Mavericks to believe that it was not worth committing to signing a supermax contract with Luka (26 years old), which would have extended his contract for five years and $346.3 million from the 2026-27 season, and created a sense of urgency to trade him before the player could force the team’s hand by making a formal trade request.
What the Mavericks did not foresee was the level of backlash they would receive for the trade. With averages of 26.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game this season, there was an argument to be made that he was worth keeping on the team despite his obvious defensive shortcomings.
Other testimonies that dismantle Dallas’ story
As for his work ethic, we have already seen plenty of evidence to suggest that the Mavericks exaggerated Doncic’s problems. In addition to the statements of Grimes, Jason Kidd and Sasa, Luka’s father, they have already come out against this narrative that more or less left the Slovenian as a lazy and unprofessional player. And his performance with the Lakers so far, averaging 24.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists is the best demonstration that he is still one of the brightest stars in the NBA.