Report: Luka’s early Lakers struggles come with guard possibly still ‘shell-shocked’ from trade

It’s been more than two weeks since the Dallas Mavericks did the unthinkable and traded the face of their franchise in guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas made the decision just months after Doncic helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011.

The Slovenian has already gotten his feet wet with the Lakers. He’s played three games with the storied franchise and most recently suited up in the team’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. However, he hasn’t really looked like himself just yet.

ESPN’s Shams Charania hinted at the premise that Doncic remains “shell-shocked” from the trade that saw him depart a Mavericks team he spent the first six-plus seasons of his NBA career with.

“What I’ve kept hearing around Luka Doncic over the last couple weeks is the word shell-shocked,” Charania said. “That’s been the vibe around him ever since the trade. And I think once he gets a rhythm, a routine and gets his legs under him and gets back into basketball shape, I think that’s when we’ll see Luka Doncic perform the way we’re accustomed to.”

Doncic’s performance in his first game after the All-Star break might’ve suggested that he’s not at 100 percent at the moment from a physical standpoint in addition to being shell-shocked.

It’s worth noting that he sat out a sizable chunk of the campaign with a calf strain. Doncic totaled just 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field against Charlotte on Wednesday.

Additionally, his ability to take care of the ball for Los Angeles left a lot to be desired. He turned the ball over six times, and five of those mishaps came in the first quarter of the contest alone.

But Wednesday didn’t mark his first underwhelming performance as a Laker. He has yet to score more than 16 points in a single game with Los Angeles and is averaging just 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game thus far with the team.

The hope is that Doncic will soon return to form and play like the perennial MVP candidate that he’s shown to be during his career. It’s certainly too soon to be seriously concerned about him, though the outlook of L.A.’s season remains a bit of a mystery right now.

As a team, the Lakers haven’t looked like title contenders to this point with Doncic in the fold. Los Angeles has lost two of the three games he’s played in, with both of those defeats coming at the hands of subpar opponents. Before losing to the Hornets on Wednesday, the Lakers suffered a double-digit loss to the Utah Jazz in their last game prior to the All-Star break.

Los Angeles will hope to snap its two-game losing streak when it takes on the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night. Fortunately for the Lakers, the Trail Blazers have been one of the worst teams in the West this season.