Nico Harrison made an inexplicable decision to trade away a 25-year-old player who routinely made All-NBA teams. He should never have made the Luka Doncic trade, and it was a gift to the Los Angeles Lakers that he did so. Yet he was right about one thing: Luka was never getting into this kind of shape in Dallas.
Harrison's logic in making the Luka Doncic trade has more holes than Swiss cheese. He traded young for old, superstar for supporting star, on-ball shot creator for non-shooting big man. As good as Anthony Davis is, he is not Luka Doncic, and he is a more difficult player to build around.
The idea that the Mavericks could not win with Doncic was absurd; he had just led the team to the NBA Finals from the No. 5 seed, winning three consecutive series on the road to get there. He perennially finished as a Top-5 MVP candidate. The Mavericks could win with him, and they are about to understand just how much he drove winning when they try to thrive without him.
Amidst all of the bluster and excuses and misguided explanations, one point that Harrison made was both inflammatory and likely true. It was reported around the time of the trade that Harrison and the Mavericks were "tired" of constant conditioning issues. It was no secret around the league that Doncic showed up each season out of shape and had to "play" his way into shape.
Harrison was right: Doncic was never going to get serious about his physical conditioning in Dallas. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Western Conference, it happened instantaneously in Los Angeles.
Doncic is in the best shape of his career
It was impossible to miss Luka Doncic's revenge tour over the past few weeks prior to his joining the Slovenia National Team in Europe to prepare for this year's EuroBasket tournament. The usually media-shy Doncic was appearing at sporting events, doing interviews on Good Morning America, and was even the cover model for an issue of Men's Health.
Our digital cover star, Luka Doncic, ready to take his game (and the Lakers) to new levels of dominance. And this summer shred has been years in the making.https://t.co/aB19DY7rrL pic.twitter.com/bjVsf1ampI
— Men's Health Mag (@MensHealthMag) July 28, 2025
This is no camera trick, either. He is slimmed-down in a way that he never was with the Mavericks. He spent the summer training in Croatia and sticking to a calculated diet, and told Men's Health that his "whole body looks better" after putting in the work. The external evidence agrees.
It's not obvious that a slimmer Doncic is a better basketball player; he likely will have more mobility on defense and be able to defend smaller players. More important will be his health; he missed significant time last season with a calf injury, one he has struggled with in the past. Less weight on his legs could yield dramatic results in terms of his long-term and in-season health.
There has been chatter that Doncic was "always" planning to take his conditioning seriously this summer, but that is a blatant attempt not to give Harrison and the Mavericks any credit. This was a targeted response -- in part a middle finger to Nico, in part a recognition on Luka's part that he did need to make a change. If a lack of conditioning could lead to a team trading him away once, it could happen again.
The Lakers are all-in on building around their new star, any quadragenarian on the roster aside. And Luka Doncic responded by taking seriously his conditioning.
Nico was right. Just don't tell him.