A stunning trade sending Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers could make the star guard take a scorched-earth approach.
The Lakers certainly would greatly benefit from that.
The Mavericks gave up on the five-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate, who is just 25 years old, to acquire Anthony Davis. Dallas reportedly questioned Doncic’s work ethic to get into shape before kicking him out the door.
That surely will give Doncic, who was blindsided by the trade, plenty of motivation to prove the Mavericks wrong, and Travis Thomas explained on NESN’s “Hold My Banner” podcast how he could see Doncic embracing his “villain” status.
“This is a perfect villain arc for Luka now: ‘You think I’m fat. You don’t want to pay me. You think I have bad work ethics? Cool. I’m 25. Guess what I’m going to do? Terrorize you for the next decade. I’m going to rip your heart out every time I play Dallas.’ And you know he’s going to do it,” Thomas said. “What the Lakers hope, is that he has that mentality for everybody now. That’s what you need. Light that fire.”
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What Thomas laid out is what many believe will happen now that Doncic is with the Lakers. And if that comes to fruition, it will make Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison look like a fool for ever trading Doncic.
LA head coach JJ Redick told reporters Wednesday that Doncic could debut for the Lakers either Saturday against the Indiana Pacers or Monday against the Utah Jazz, which could be the start of Doncic’s revenge tour.
You can watch all episodes of “Hold My Banner” on YouTube and Spotify.
Featured image via Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
