MAVS NEWS:

[Knutsen]

Your examples don't really support your point.

If the standard is Malone, Barkley, Shaq, those players played similar and even MORE minutes/mpg than Luka is playing, year after year. And they were all beasts, playing a VERY physical game that was way more brutal than today's version.

It's on Luka to perceive if he thinks he has a need, and then condition himself to go to war. If he doesn't, he doesn't -- but you aren't going to get him to sit, when the previous and current all-time greats didn't sit. They expect to play a lot.

If Luka wants to be in better condition, the Mavs can't do it for him. Putting him in bubble wrap won't fix the issue either. It's his career, his legacy, his shot at titles, and how he pursues it (or doesn't) will be up to him.

I hope having another true professional and proven winner in Klay next to him, who won 4 rings and came back from having the two worst injuries a basketball player can have back-to-back, will rub off on him and inspire him. Luka is inspired by greatness, you can see that anytime he meets Dirk, so I‘ll hope for the best.