Luka Doncic‘s father has hit out at the Dallas Mavericks front office for how they handled trading away the point guard, who heads to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most shocking trades in basketball history.
The 25-year-old is regarded as one of the hottest talents in the sport and led his ex-side to the 2023/24 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, but spent much of the ongoing 2024/25 campaign out injured.
Rumors indicate the executives lost faith in the European star, who was stunned at the news he had to move to California, after he apparently put on some extra weight; although these are currently unconfirmed.
The Slovenian was heavily involved in his local community in Dallas and a fan favorite through his on-court prowess, as well as his philanthropic nature in the Texan city, and as a result his father feels he deserved more from the American Airlines Center.
“I understand there comes a moment when you disagree with a certain philosophy,” Sasa Doncic told Arena Sport Slovenija. “You don’t like this or that player, all good, I get it.
“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, 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, helped children.”
When is Doncic’s first Lakers game?
The Mavericks already played their first game in the post-Doncic era and were embarrassed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 144-101 loss at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio on February 2.
But all eyes turn to the star’s debut in LA for the Lakers, alongside the iconic LeBron James, in a mouth-watering line-up. According to Marc Stein, Doncic was expecting to return no later than February 8.
That would mean his first appearance in the famous purple and gold could come against the Indiana Pacers on that same day. The Lakers take on the Utah Jazz shortly after, on February 10 and 12.