When the Dallas Mavericks trades superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers back in early February for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick, the backlash was palpable.
Several fans held a “mock funeral” for Doncic in downtown Dallas following the trade, while others claimed they wouldn’t be renewing their season tickets, and others simply stopped attending games for the rest of the year.
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Franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki even kept his distance from the team he once led to an NBA championship back in 2011.
But among those who got the worst of the turmoil was general manager Nico Harrison, who staunchly defended his decision to trade away the most popular player on the team in the name of building a championship-caliber defense.
The Mavericks tried to smooth things over with their fans by informing ESPN that they had serious concerns about Doncic’s weight management, stating he had allowed himself to get out of shape, which exacerbated some of the injuries he had been suffering.
Reports claim Doncic weighed 260 pounds while he was in Dallas, though the Lakers listed him at 230 pounds on their roster. Regardless of what the scale actually said, Doncic clearly didn’t want to have any more body shaming hanging over his head next season, prompting him to spend the summer shedding pounds and transforming his body.
Men’s Health put the noticeably slimmer Doncic on the cover of their most recent magazine, and while many fans applauded the 26-year-old for his dramatic weight loss, others were quick to point out that Harrison actually deserves credit for being the one to light a fire under the Slovenian and motivate him to get in shape.
“[Expletive] man Nico Harrison really created a monster. Luka Doncic went from fat to the cover of Men’s Health magazine ,” one user wrote.
“Luka Doncic getting jacked & tan for the cover of Men’s Health is the equivalent of a girl getting skinny after getting dumped. Nico Harrison gave us revenge body Luka,” another user replied.
“Nico Harrison really traded the 2nd best player in the league away for being out of shape, and then 5 months later Luka Doncic became the cover star for Men’s Health ,” one fan commented.
“Nico Harrison really traded Luka Doncic away for being out of shape, and then 5 months later became the cover star for Men’s Health ,” another fan stated.