After winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes and the NBA Draft Lottery nearly two weeks ago, the Dallas Mavericks have a prime opportunity to win back a majority of their fan base next season, as fan discontentment with the organization had never been higher following the Luka Doncic trade on February 1.
While Flagg has an opportunity to rewrite the history of Dallas basketball and be the catalyst of a new era for the Mavericks, Mavericks fans were prematurely stripped of getting the opportunity to watch Doncic continue to be the face of the franchise in Dallas after seven great seasons with the organization. Even nearly four months from the trade having taken place, Nico Harrison's reasoning for making the move still can't be fully justified, and Doncic is primed to make Harrison pay for his decision and the reasons behind it.
One of Harrison's biggest gripes with Doncic was his lack of conditioning and the ripple effects this had on his ability to hold up injury-wise and defensively. While this is a fair criticism of Doncic and something that was magnified against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, Doncic is bound and more determined than ever to flip the script on this notion, as it already seems like he's trying to get into far better shape this summer.
Doncic getting in better shape will turn the tables on Harrison
Doncic's wife recently took to Instagram to share some food their family was making, and it looked like a well-balanced rice or pasta with some different vegetables in it. Now, of course, a singular photo of some food that Doncic's wife shared on Instagram is by no means proof that Doncic is in elite playing shape yet, and it's equally likely that Doncic's wife probably only posted this because the meal looked aesthetic or delicious.
With all that being said, though, this is the first sort of evidence that Doncic may be making some changes to his lifestyle and is likely dialed in on proving Harrison's agenda completely wrong, and it's needless to say, a more in-shape Doncic would wreak havoc on the entire league. While this was just a picture of some healthy pasta and shouldn't be overanalyzed, if pictures and videos start to emerge this summer of Doncic looking in elite shape, it's clear the groundwork on getting to that point started early in the offseason by eating clean and grinding in the gym every day.
There have been rumblings that Doncic is changing some key things about himself this offseason to unlock the best version of himself on the floor, and Doncic coming back in great shape will be the final dagger in the heart for Mavericks fans who still wish he were on the team.
While Doncic may have struggled with motivation to tweak some of his off-court habits in Dallas, Harrison knows the type of killer mentality Doncic has, and it's clear there couldn't have been any greater motivator to get in elite shape than being traded from the Mavericks. Doncic loved the city of Dallas and was even poised on buying a new home in Dallas to raise his family for the foreseeable future, but Harrison blindsided him by trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers without telling him, and it was clear this didn't sit well with Doncic based on his 45-point outburst against the Mavericks in his homecoming game last month.
If Doncic can't get into shape at this point in his career or during this summer, this may be an ongoing struggle for him throughout his entire career, and perhaps Harrison's synopsis could somehow prove true in the long run. However, Mavericks fans know all too well that Doncic isn't the type to back down from a challenge, and it wouldn't be surprising if this picture were the first hint at what Doncic could be bringing to the court come October.