It has been nearly a month since the Mavericks traded franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic. Despite the heartbreak the Slovenian superstar underwent, he has put his mind to moving on. That doesn’t seem to be the case for the Mavericks’ camp, as reports continue to leak regarding issues with the superstar, the latest being their distaste for his hookah and beer habits.
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Early on, Dallas only seemed to bash Doncic’s conditioning. Their concerns about his health and ability to stay on the court appeared to be the only reason the team was reluctant to offer the $345 million supermax he would be due.
A recent report from The Athletic‘s Sam Amick shines new light on the Mavericks’ personnel’s opinion of Doncic, who allegedly portrayed him negatively in his last days with the team.
Amick said,“They mention the social habits that The Athletic has reported on — such as a taste for beer and hookah — which have been a point of concern for NBA types since he was a 19-year-old star for Real Madrid who was entering the NBA Draft.”
The Dallas Mavericks reportedly had an issue with Luka Dončić smoking hookah and drinking beer, per @TheAthletic
“Make no mistake, the people who witnessed Dončić’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism. They call him lazy.… pic.twitter.com/MgopdlCH2J
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 26, 2025
This news spread gas on an already raging fire from fans still angry at the fact Dallas traded Doncic. The Dallas faithful took to X to share their passionate responses to the recent Mavericks report.
One user claims these are slight issues compared to what Michael Jordan used to do. He wrote, “Back then we watched Jordan gamble, smoke cigars.”
A Mavericks fan page, tired of the constant onslaught, wrote, “He scored 73 points in a game and led us to the NBA finals. Trading him was completely idiotic and wrong. Can we please stop putting out these stupid reports every single day now? It’s been a month.”
Another fan questions the timing of the report, since it comes after Doncic finished with a triple-double in his first game against his former team.
Seeing it as a horrible attempt at damage control, he said, “I love how this leaked after he dropped a triple double on them last night and was doing pushups during warmups. Mav’s f’ed up and a lot of fans were rooting for hookah Luka last night.”
These recent reports aren’t the only ones to come to light recently. Another claims Mavericks’ general manager, Nico Harrison, always intended to trade Doncic.
Harrison planned to trade Doncic in the summer
It seems the Luka magic wasn’t enough for Harrison, despite reaching the NBA Finals last season.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Harrison didn’t envision a long-term future with Doncic at the helm. If they weren’t able to offload the superstar at the deadline, he would’ve been traded in the offseason.
“Whispers via league sources suggesting that Dallas’ decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around Dončić and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest,” Stein said.
On multiple occasions, Harrison has stated his belief that defense wins championships. He was certain Doncic wasn’t capable of leading the Mavericks to a title under that philosophy, and he took strategic means to get the Mavs out of the Doncic era.
