Patrick Dumont, governor of the Dallas Mavericks, has broken his silence to try to justify the trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us
“In my mind, the way teams win is by being focused, having the right personality, the right culture and the dedication to work hard to create a championship environment. If you don’t do that, you’re going to lose,” said Patrick Dumont in the ‘Dallas Morning News’ questioning Luka Doncic’s work ethic in Dallas.
If you look at the greats of the NBA (Jordan, Bird, Kobe or Shaq), they worked hard every day, with one focus: to win. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Mavericks
Controversy over Doncic’s weight in Dallas: “Fat Luka is better than 99.9% of NBA guards”
In the United States, it was reported that the Mavericks’ front office was upset about Doncic’s physical condition (they reported that he exceeded 120 kg), and that this could be one of the main reasons that encouraged them to get rid of the 25-year-old Slovenian star
“If you look at the greats of the NBA (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal), they worked hard every day, with one focus: winning. It doesn’t work if you don’t have that. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks,” said the son-in-law of Mavericks majority owner Miriam Adelson.
Patrick Dumont ended his indirect swipe at Doncic by commenting that “if you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us”.
It is surprising that Dumont uses Shaquille O’Neal, who recently defended Doncic’s fitness, as an example of a hard-working player and admitted that he never worked much in the summer to keep fit: “I didn’t work during the summer, because I had obligations, family, children and I wanted to get fit. That was my method, it worked for me.”
“It doesn’t seem to me that Luka is out of shape… I need to know what the term is. When you say you’re out of shape, is he fat? Does he have a six-pack? Are we talking about body fat? Because one of my best friends told me: ‘Fat Luka Doncic is better than 99.9% of all NBA perimeter players’. In shape Luka… five years First Team All-NBA. Fat Luka or his out-of-shape version…. first team All-NBA for five years. If that’s the case, they let him go, obviously, I would definitely have to blame the Mavericks management because there are better ways to handle that,” Shaq explained.
Patrick Dumont shares Dallas Mavericks values after Luka Doncic’s departure
Patrick Dumont made clear the spirit of the new Dallas Mavericks after Doncic’s departure: “That’s what we want (hard work). I’m unwavering in this. The whole organization knows it. That’s how I work outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.”
“In my opinion, the way to win is to focus. Having the right character, culture and dedication to work as hard as possible to achieve the championship. If you don’t do that, you’re going to lose,” he said.
Despite his words, Patrick Dumond did not hesitate to describe Luka Doncic as a “Mav for life” and admitted that “I’m a huge fan of Doncic. My family is very much a fan of Luka. I deeply appreciate what he brought to this team, what he brought to Dallas and the excitement he generates.”
Mark Cuban tried to stop Doncic’s move to the Lakers, but he was too late
When Mark Cuban, former owner of the Mavericks, learned of the deal to trade Luka Doncic, he tried to stop it, but it was too late.
Journalist Marc Stein reports that general manager Nico Harrison never sought advice or counsel, and that when Cuban learned of the deal, the trade had already been verbally agreed.
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