Luka Doncic’s father had some harsh words for the Dallas Mavericks over their handling of Doncic’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Appearing on Slovenian television Sunday, Sasa Doncic, a longtime player and coach in his own right, suggested the Mavericks had been disrespectful and even hypocritical in their handling of his son. Sasa Doncic took particular offense to the suggestion that concerns over Luka’s conditioning factored into the decision to trade Luka.
“I understand there comes a moment when you disagree with a certain philosophy. You don’t like this or that player. All good. I get it,” Sasa Doncic said. “But I think that exactly this secrecy, or should I say from some individuals maybe even hypocrisy, this hurts me personally. Because I think that Luka absolutely doesn’t deserve this. Giving the fact that, at least as I know, (he) sacrificed himself enormously, and even all the stories now that someone is releasing that he wants to apologize for the things that they’re doing. I feel like this is very unfair from some individuals. Because I know that Luka respected Dallas a lot. He respected the whole city.
“It wasn’t even a problem last year since — I am saying again, one individual said he’s not fit enough — he played 100 games, practically 40 minutes, with two or three players constantly on him, and he was beaten, and you say such things about him. I feel that this is very unfair from certain individuals. You traded him. Stand by your actions, but don’t look for excuses or alibis.”
Luka’s dad about the trade 🐍 #nba #lukadoncic #lukadoncictrade pic.twitter.com/muWUDKaxlT
— Arena Sport Slovenija (@ArenaSport_SI) February 2, 2025
Reports emerged after the blockbuster trade suggesting that the Mavericks had major concerns about Doncic’s conditioning issues with a supermax contract extension likely coming up. Doncic has only played in 22 of a possible 49 games this season and has been out since Christmas with a calf strain, but he did play in 70 regular season games last year plus 22 more in the playoffs.
Doncic reportedly did not even know a trade was in the works until it actually happened. There have also been some hints that Doncic himself is not thrilled with this turn of events. His father certainly isn’t, and it might suggest that there are some hard feelings toward the organization itself over how this went down.
