10-24-2025, 11:02 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-24-2025, 11:05 PM by KillerLeft.)
(10-24-2025, 10:53 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: I like many others are still angry at Nico, but Luka bears a lot of blame as well. He consistently came out of shape at the start of the season. He didn't lose weight during the season. We know about his defense and constant whining and inability or unwillingness to move around without the ball. We can say Kidd is bad, but Luka basically ran Carlisle out as well. We can talk about Nico, but if you remember Donnie on his way out was hinting that Luka should be more of a team player (weird thing to say if you just focus on stats and Luka's superb passing/assists, but Donnie and all of us knew what he was pointing out).
It's a testament to his superb ball handling skills , shot making skills and overall genius that he could still be such a dominant force, but no one can convince me that he put his best foot forward here the last few years even with the team making the Finals. That involves a lot more than just carrying the scoring load. He has already lost weight in LA that he didn't here. He is playing off the ball to Austin Reaves. There is no way he would have deferred to Austin Reaves if he were still in Dallas. Unfortunately for us Mavs fans, that light bulb going off seems to have come only with the shock of getting traded. Unfortunately for Luka, he might be putting his best foot forward now, but that team is not very good.
Maybe that's true. But given the same thing happening with Nash, the same thing happening with Brunson, you have to ask the question of why this franchise is consistently unable to get the most from its best players. "They only wake up when they get traded" is an excuse, not an answer. Like if you're saying players will always be too comfortable here and never try their hardest then just fold up the franchise right now. Either put together a front office and staff that can get the most from generational and star talents, or get out of the league.