Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[hakeemfaan]

If anyone expected Luka to stay the same size as he was when he was 19, that person was an idiot.   Not every athlete is a good body guy.   Luka may have put on weight when he was injured but he is built wide and tall.   It's part of what makes his game.    The dude should have won the MVP last year.  He took the team to the NBA finals, and it still wasn't enough for Nico because he didn't look and act like Kobe.    

The Mavericks had a generational talent, sold him low, and then tried to act like he was some sort of 400 lb slob who couldnt get up and down the court to justify it.    He played hurt, barely missed time outside of load management up until this year and the team decided they didnt like that he drank a few beers.   Just absolute nonsense.   There is no justifying the trade or how they treated him after the trade.

I have said most of the same things.   Also I have said his weight concerns are a bit overblown given that he seems to outlast elite NBA defenders who are some of the best athletes.  There has been no post from me defending this trade in any shape or form 

However Luka had his share of issues as well. He had a great coach in RC who he used to apparently mock.  Next he got a players coach and a HOF guard. Yet on certain things even he couldn’t get through to Luka.  Yes Luka is never going to be svelte but neither is Jokic. Yet you never hear any complaints about the time he puts in the gym. You also hear how he has drastically changed his diet. 

Again none of this is defending this trade or this FO. I want them all fired. Despite the flaws I have listed, I can list so many great things that he brings to the table which is why the word “generational” is used. Plus he wanted to be here. He never asked to be traded. He never cribbed about the supporting cast unlike even lesser stars. The front office might have had some legit gripes about Luka,, but they didn’t balance it out with all the great things he brought. Also not having any context of the Mavs history, these guys couldn’t understand how big a deal it was that one of the best players in the game actually was happy to be here.