At least one former standout Los Angeles Lakers player has qualms with the idea of the storied franchise acquiring Dallas Mavericks star point guard Luka Doncic.
“You got to think about this, Luka is going to be how old (when his current deal expires)?” Robert Horry asked. “Like 31, 32? … He ain’t the best defensive player now and that’s the Lakers problem. You gotta have some athletic guys that can play some defense and Luka, he can score with the best of them, but we also know you gotta take beers out of his hand because he ain’t the one to stay in shape. He gonna be good but he ain’t gonna be what you need probably.”
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported approximately a fortnight ago that when LeBron James’ NBA career comes to an end, the Lakers will have their sights set on the Slovenian.
“I’ve reported on this podcast and on The Ringer how they have their sights set for Luka in the future,” O’Connor said of the Lakers. “We’ll see if that works out. Dallas just made a Finals. Dallas is lookin’ better than ever with their supporting cast. That may not work out. But the Lakers, by not trading their future picks, clearly they’re still thinking long term at this point. They’re not going all in like you might expect many teams to do with LeBron James.”
Doncic isn’t the most agile player in the NBA, and his lack of speed — compared to some — became glaringly apparent on the defensive side of the ball in the 2024 NBA Finals. The Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games, and Doncic had a hard time staying in front of the likes of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White on the less glamorous end of the court.
The Mavericks star also appeared as if he was out of gas on the offensive end of the floor in the championship series. For the most part, he shot far worse from the free-throw line and from 3-point range than he did in Dallas’ other three playoff series and also totaled almost as many assists as turnovers.
Perhaps his only truly efficient outing of the NBA Finals — both from playmaking and scoring standpoints — came when the best-of-seven series was already all but decided. With the Celtics holding a commanding 3-0 series lead, Doncic dropped 29 points on 12-of-26 shooting from the field and chipped in five assists while turning the ball over only once.
While Doncic does have some question marks surrounding the shape that he’s in, he’s also one of the most talented players in the NBA, and he did a bit of everything for the Mavericks’ offense last season. In 70 regular-season games, he averaged 33.9 points on 48.7 percent shooting from the field and 38.2 percent from 3-point range on top of 9.8 assists per contest.
Doncic averaged the most points and dished out the second-most assists per game of any qualified player in the NBA during the 2023-24 regular season.
