As expected, the blockbuster trade sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers has drawn widespread reactions across the globe.
While the shock of other NBA players and the standard “farewell” post from Doncic was to be expected, his father, Sasa, has now chimed in on what happened. He didn’t exactly mince words, either.
Sunday, Luka’s father spoke with Arena Sport 1 in the family’s native Slovenia. The 50-year-old spoke at length about the Mavericks‘ handling of the trade that’s sending his son to the City of Angels.
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What did Luka Doncic’s father say about Lakers trade?
The elder Doncic first outlined his qualms with the “secrecy” that he felt Dallas kept while handling this trade.
“But I think that exactly this secrecy, or should I say from some individuals, maybe even hypocrisy, this hurts me personally,” Sasa said, per an Arena Sport 1 translation. “Because I think that Luka absolutely doesn’t deserve this.”
While the public may never know the full extent of Dallas’ motives to trade Doncic, the prevailing narrative is that the franchise had serious concerns about his weight and conditioning. His father had a response to that.
“(Luka’s conditioning) wasn’t even a problem last year since, I am saying again, one individual said he’s not fit enough,” said Sasa, who added that his son played heavy minutes throughout the regular season and a deep playoff run.
While understandably biased toward his son, there are numbers to back Sasa’s claim. Last year, Luka appeared in 92 games (70 regular season, 22 postseason). After averaging 37.9 minutes per game during the regular season, his workload increased to over 40 minutes per game in the playoffs.
Through it all, Doncic earned First Team All-NBA honors for the 2023-24 season and was named MVP of the 2024 Western Conference Finals. These accomplishments came after the Mavericks reportedly asked him to lower his playing weight for the season.
MORE: Did conditioning issues limit Luka Doncic during his Dallas tenure?
Sasa would go on to say he feels the reporting on his son’s way out is “unfair,” telling Dallas “You traded him, stand by your actions, but don’t look for excuses or alibis, that’s it.”
The thoughts of Doncic’s father are just that, but it is worth noting that someone in his family feels wronged by the way the trade unfolded. Luka took the high road when saying his farewell to the city and community, but many are reading between the lines of the omission of an explicit Mavericks message.
Whether or not time heals the wounds from this breakup remains to be seen, but the surrounding chatter suggests there may be more there than what meets the eye. It will be a must-see event when Doncic first faces his former team as a member of the Lakers.