Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Doncic is preparing for his first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Rob Pelinka has spent the summer retooling the roster with players capable of getting the best out of Doncic.
However, not everyone is excited to see how Doncic performs in the Purple and Gold. During a recent appearance on “The Arena,” former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted that he’s still a fan of Doncic the person, but will no longer support Doncic the NBA player.
“Off the court, love Luka to death,” Cuban said. “On the court, f**K him. I don’t want him to get hurt or anything.”
Cuban’s stance is likely similar to many non-Laker NBA fans. Doncic has joined a franchise that’s notorious for boasting superstar talent. Unfortunately, that often leads to strong stances from other teams’ fan bases or some of the neutral basketball enthusiasts.
Of course, Doncic is unlikely to be what anyone thinks of him as a player. Instead, his focus will be on winning the first championship of his career and kickstarting his tenure as the face of the most popular franchise in the world.
Doncic Praises Pelinka and Jeanie Buss
Recently, Pelinka and Jeanie Buss made the trans-Atlantic trip to Poland. Doncic is currently in Europe with the Slovenian National Team participating in FIBA’s EuroBasket.
When speaking to the media following Slovenia’s final pre-tournament practice session, Doncic praised Buss and Pelinka for making the trip and showing their support.
“Means a lot,” Dončić said, per EuroHoops. “It’s a long flight, like 11–12 hours, means a lot for them to be here to support me. We had a great lunch today. It was great to see them.”
Doncic is arguably the biggest star taking part in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. However, he’s also joined by Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, with that trio arguably the best three players in the world.
Doncic Was Originally Sad to Join the Lakers
In a recent interview on “Radio 1” in Slovenia, Buss admitted that Doncic was originally disappointed to have landed on the Lakers. The superstar guard didn’t want to leave the Mavericks and was unaware of the trade talks happening behind the scenes.
“Nobody knew the trade was going to happen”, said Buss. “I knew, but he didn’t know. I’ve never had a player come to the Lakers and be as sad as he was, because the trade was such a huge surprise to him. He is a real person, and he had to process what happened. [However,] I think now he’s embraced the Lakers – and he’s all about L.A.”
Nevertheless, the Lakers have done everything in their power to show Doncic how important he is to the franchise. The front office clearly views him as the answer to their future. With the hope that he can bring multiple championships to the city of Los Angeles, thus making him the latest All-Time great to don a Lakers jersey.
Doncic has enjoyed a strong start to life in Lakerland. He played in 28 regular-season games after joining the Lakers, averaging 28.2 points, 7.5 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. During those outings, Doncic shot the rock at a 49.3% clip from two-point range and 37.9% from deep.
Now, all eyes will be on how he navigates his first full season with the franchise, just don’t expect Cuban to be watching.