Luka Doncic’s trade to the LA Lakers was one of the most shocking moves in NBA history.
Dallas Mavericks‘ General Manager Nico Harrison was criticised for trading away the franchise superstar – Luka Doncic, who had just a few months before led the team to an NBA Finals appearance.
It was a brilliant trade from the LA Lakers‘ standpoint as they were able to get a player like Doncic by giving up Anthony Davis, whose injury history was known to all.
The Slovenian had a great start to his life in LA as he made an instant impact on JJ Redick’s team, including putting up a dominant 45-point performance over the Mavs during the regular season.
However, in the playoffs, Doncic seemed to struggle on the defensive end of the floor as the Minnesota Timberwolves targeted him, which made things very difficult for the Lakers.
Although Doncic has already started to work in the offseason, former Miami Heat player Udonis Haslem has stated his lack of ability to defend and conditioning problems are why the Mavericks decided to trade him.
Doncic is one of the best offensive players in the NBA, who can score 30+ points on any given night.
But his ability to defend has been questionable since he was drafted into the NBA.
Haslem stated that Doncic’s defensive weakness, while other players give their best, could be a trait that divides the locker room.
“I mean, we talked about all Luka’s accolades and what he’s accomplished, but everybody doesn’t have Luka Doncic’s talent. Everybody can’t get it done the way he gets it done,” said Haslem when talking about Doncic.
“So I’m gonna let Luka come in and be in shape and go and do what he does, but I’m expecting the other 15 guys to get in in shape in his locker room. What kind of example am I setting as a coach? That’s how your locker room starts to turn you.”
The Mavericks made several deep runs to the playoffs, but Doncic’s defensive weaknesses got exposed in those games and that cost the team dearly.
Nico Harrison in his press conference announcing the trade also stated ‘Defense wins championships,’ which indicated one of the reasons why they went ahead with the move.
“Why do we have to guard and defend and Luka does not have the guard, and that’s when you start to have a divide. And that’s when you see a team that says ‘hey we can’t win with this guy, as great as he is, it’s talented as he is, we can’t win with this guy,” Haslem added.
While Doncic’s offensive ability brings people to the arena, it is vital for him to be able to defend for his team.
The Lakers aspire to win championships, and if one of their star players cannot defend, it will be very difficult for them to succeed.
Rob Pelinka confirmed the Lakers would be in pursuit of a big this offseason, but even with that, Doncic will have to take responsibility of his own matchups.
He cannot afford to be targeted by opponents as that will make it difficult for the Lakers to help him, especially in the playoffs when the game slows down and every shot matters.
Other young stars like Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have shown they can defend well, but Doncic is yet to prove that he can be reliable on that end of the floor.
He has looked good in his offseason workout and if all that Doncic did worked, a change can be expected in his defensive mindset and that would be a major boost for the Lakers.
