Some "insider" (not really) info on Luka heading into next season

Rubios · Post #1 » by **Rubios** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:28 pm

As most of you already know, Doncic attended a Real Madrid's game.

Before and after the game he was talking to some people, some of them were journalists. Back then (way back then) I was a sports journalist. A John Doe, just a number, but working for the biggest sports newspaper here in Spain (Marca).
I had some beers this weekend with a former colleague that covers FIBA and NBA -I did European football, mostly-.

As I'm out of the biz for more than 12 years, he didn't bring any off the record stuff, just things he said loud enough for everyone close enough to listen.

- He grew up looking up to LeBron, but thinks LA has to be his team. He will have the ball, ask for the ball and take the most shots. And prove JJ and his team he has to. LBJ seems cool with that. (At that time, the thought of LeBron leaving LA was not around).

- He is still f***ed by the trade. He was fine in Dallas. But, deep inside, he knows it's for the best.

- He thinks Jokic and Giannis are still at a level that's out of his reach. "I'm not there, or not yet". He thinks Jokic should have won his 5th straigth MVP, but all things considered he believes Shai is the right and best possible winner. He has huge respect for Shai.

- He knows voters will have a hard time rewarding Jokic with a 4th MVP (tying LeBron) or Giannis with a 3rd -+DPOY- (tying Magic, Bird) with one single chip. He knows about Moses Malone, but he played 2 Finals and many conference finals.

- He knows that this plays in his favor, as he believes he can be the 3rd best player in the League.

I'm working in advertising since then, and apparently the "A trial for Luka" commercial showed up in the conversation. I was very interested in how he accepted that script:

- Obviously he wants the spotlight because he wants to make a point and show how unjustified his trade was.

(That's apparently close to literal -from Spanish-)
- "All that's coming from Mav's propaganda is bull. A drinking problem? Eating pizza and burgers? C'mon. You know, I'm not Kobe. But I'm a professional elite athlete in 2025".

- He said he has always did what his trainers/nutritionist/(...) said him to. "Until they fired them", but he kept listening to the team he trusted... even if they were not on the team anymore.
(Close to literal, again)
"If what they tell me to do and to eat makes me slimmer, fine. If I'm still a bit chubby, so be it. We will work together so I can be at my best on the court, not on the beach".

TL;DR It seems like 35/10/10 Luka is coming back at it.

the_process · Post #2 » by **the_process** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:32 pm

Luka in LA will win MVP at some point in the near future.

Optms · Post #3 » by **Optms** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:34 pm

MVP level season coming up. Lakers will finish with a top 3 seed. Book it.

RB34 · Post #4 » by **RB34** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:50 pm

Nice write up. Still kills me that Luka plays for the Lakers.

JimmyPlopper · Post #5 » by **JimmyPlopper** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:54 pm

Thanks a lot for sharing this.

hugepatsfan · Post #6 » by **hugepatsfan** » Wed Jul 2, 2025 11:59 pm

I do find it interesting the idea that the trade is going to motivate him to get into shape and play harder and all that... last offseason he lost in the finals and the world was clowning him for looking like a flat slob in a lot of the gameplay (even if very good statistically). That didn't motivate him. He flopped on the biggest stage and the whole basketball media was going on rants about him being a lazy, whiny, fat guy who didn't play winning basketball and he didn't seem to change at all last year. But the trade is going to motivate him now?

IDK, maybe it does. I think it's more likely that Luka is wired the way he's wired and he'll continue to be great, no not just great - AMAZING, but despite those flaws.

GQ03 · Post #7 » by **GQ03** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 12:02 am

the_process wrote:Luka in LA will win MVP at some point in the near future.

He should've won mvp in the '23-'24 season.

VanWest82 · Post #8 » by **VanWest82** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:01 am

No idea whether or not any of this is real but I appreciate the effort to share info.

Luka's been one of the most talented individuals in the world for ten years. Now he's been shamed. Go ahead and bet against that. Not me, at least until he's 30+.

Lakers need some size, defense, shooting, and secondary ball handler. As long as they have that (and Luka), they're contenders.

WolfAddict · Post #9 » by **WolfAddict** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:11 am

Easily one of the best posts I've read - Thank you for sharing brother - Much appreciated.

DonaldSanders · Post #10 » by **DonaldSanders** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:13 am

hugepatsfan wrote:I do find it interesting the idea that the trade is going to motivate him to get into shape and play harder and all that... last offseason he lost in the finals and the world was clowning him for looking like a flat slob in a lot of the gameplay (even if very good statistically). That didn't motivate him. He flopped on the biggest stage and the whole basketball media was going on rants about him being a lazy, whiny, fat guy who didn't play winning basketball and he didn't seem to change at all last year. But the trade is going to motivate him now?

He did not flop, he was the carry on a team that made the Finals and had a fantastic playoff run. He played through injury as well. After that season it was probably a lot easier to ignore the media hoopla/bs. I'm not saying he shouldn't have gotten somewhat better shape, but I don't think the world was 'clowning him,' that was more of a trollish position at the time.

WolfAddict · Post #11 » by **WolfAddict** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:15 am

hugepatsfan wrote:I do find it interesting the idea that the trade is going to motivate him to get into shape and play harder and all that... last offseason he lost in the finals and the world was clowning him for looking like a flat slob in a lot of the gameplay (even if very good statistically). That didn't motivate him. He flopped on the biggest stage and the whole basketball media was going on rants about him being a lazy, whiny, fat guy who didn't play winning basketball and he didn't seem to change at all last year. But the trade is going to motivate him now?

IDK, maybe it does. I think it's more likely that Luka is wired the way he's wired and he'll continue to be great, no not just great - AMAZING, but despite those flaws.

I'd assume it'd be that he can, somewhat, ignore the media and socials where a lot of that was coming from

Not so much with an absolute left field trade and the narrative the Mavs pushed after the fact.

AleksandarN · Post #12 » by **AleksandarN** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:16 am

Optms wrote:MVP level season coming up. Lakers will finish with a top 3 seed. Book it.

CS707 · Post #13 » by **CS707** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:23 am

Him thinking he can be the 3rd best player in the league is weird to me. Not that I don’t believe he said it but it’s pretty atypical for a player to not say he thinks he’s the best. Luka in particular seems to have that type of personality too.

Archx · Post #14 » by **Archx** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 1:52 am

hugepatsfan wrote:I do find it interesting the idea that the trade is going to motivate him to get into shape and play harder and all that... last offseason he lost in the finals and the world was clowning him for looking like a flat slob in a lot of the gameplay (even if very good statistically). That didn't motivate him. He flopped on the biggest stage and the whole basketball media was going on rants about him being a lazy, whiny, fat guy who didn't play winning basketball and he didn't seem to change at all last year. But the trade is going to motivate him now?

IDK, maybe it does. I think it's more likely that Luka is wired the way he's wired and he'll continue to be great, no not just great - AMAZING, but despite those flaws.

He made a mistake of playing for NT instead of resting and healing up. Then he tried to take a longer vacation but the season was already coming up fast. Same injuries that gave him problems during the playoffs and finals started coming back and Mavs (new Nico's medical staff) started to become more and more frustrated with him and tried to rush him back. His own staff basically blocked them or we could have seen another achilles tear.

Basically yeah, it's his own fault for not scheduling off season the right way but the down year was mostly related to his constant injuries and stuff happening off the court. But his plan was basically to get back in shape for the playoffs which Nico cut short with the trade.

SlimShady83 · Post #15 » by **SlimShady83** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 2:03 am

MVP MVP MVP

Rubios · Post #16 » by **Rubios** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 8:22 pm

CS707 wrote:Him thinking he can be the 3rd best player in the league is weird to me. Not that I don’t believe he said it but it’s pretty atypical for a player to not say he thinks he’s the best. Luka in particular seems to have that type of personality too.

It didn't strike me as anythig weird. I barely had any relationship, at all, with any player (European soccer ones, in my case) but one of the first things you learn in the newsroom is that every high level athlete needs to be somewhat "delusional" in order to succeed.
But that's during the game, and maybe the day prior.

I mean: sure, if Luka plays vs Jokic, he probably believes he's the best player on the court that night. Possibly, even every single player thinks so.

But, in a casual conversation during the off-season, him saying that Jokic and Giannis are better only means, IMHO, that he's not ACTUALLY delusional and has a functional brain.

Ssj16 · Post #17 » by **Ssj16** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 8:28 pm

Optms wrote:MVP level season coming up. Lakers will finish with a top 3 seed. Book it.

If Lakers don't finish top 3, I'll be very interested to hear the excuses since you hold them in this high esteem...

Jazz9 · Post #18 » by **Jazz9** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 8:29 pm

- He said he has always did what his trainers/nutritionist/(...) said him to. "Until they fired them", but he kept listening to the team he trusted... even if they were not on the team anymore.
(Close to literal, again)
"If what they tell me to do and to eat makes me slimmer, fine. If I'm still a bit chubby, so be it. We will work together so I can be at my best on the court, not on the beach".

Feels like he's not gonna change much to me...

FrodoBaggins · Post #19 » by **FrodoBaggins** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 8:29 pm

Could be legit. Here's OP's first post:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2454187&p=118088845#p118088845

Mentions being Spanish.

MrGoat · Post #20 » by **MrGoat** » Thu Jul 3, 2025 8:39 pm

This checks out from what I know about the Mavs, being a recent former fan. Getting eliminated so quickly this last season may have been a blessing in disguise for him. He led the league in minutes in 2024, and played the entire playoffs on a bad leg and then still did international play. Had it reaggravated in a scrimmage getting ready for the season and clashed with the new medical people Nico hired after firing one of the most respected ones in the NBA because they wanted to rush him back even though it would have been risking an Achilles injury. He was easing himself back in and was still shocked by the trade this last season. Luka should be ready in peak form to start this next season and he will remind people who he is, Jokic is also humble and has said he thought Luka should have been MVP in 2024