The Dallas Mavericks are trying their best to spin their decision to trade away (former) franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers by weaving this story of Doncic being overweight. General manager Nico Harrison even pointed out that they traded Doncic away because they believed that defense wins championships even though the Mavericks went all the way to the NBA Finals with the Slovenian star leading the way last season.

It looks as though the view of some Mavericks officials towards Doncic was becoming increasingly more tenuous this season; they believed that some of Doncic's habits were suboptimal, and they were worried that he wouldn't be worth the five-year, $345 million supermax extension he's due after the 2025-26 season.

In a game of tug-o-war, the Mavericks were reportedly looking to push Doncic's buttons, forcing him to make changes to his habits and routines by firing staff members that the 25-year-old star was fond of, according to Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN. Among the firing the Mavs made were to former director of player health and performance Casey Smith, strength coach Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler — all of whom had strong relationships with Doncic.

Doncic's frustrations were growing to the point that he griped that the Mavericks organization was getting rid of everybody he likes, but it didn't exactly result in the 180-degree change that the team was expecting out of their star, hence their decision to trade him away.

Still, it's not as if Doncic's performances were suffering; sure, there were times that his conditioning was suboptimal, but he always found a way to play his way into shape and produce when it matters the most, particularly in the playoffs. But the Mavericks' loss is now the Lakers' gain.

The Mavericks should not have traded Luka Doncic

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on during a stoppage in play during the first half of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There will be no satisfactory explanations that could ever capture the Mavericks' rationale behind trading away Luka Doncic. Doncic has done nothing but be one of the league's biggest superstars since entering the league in 2018, and he led them to the Conference Finals and to the NBA Finals — doing so at the ripe young age of 25.

It's not like the Mavs got total garbage in exchange for Doncic. Anthony Davis is one of the best big men in the league, after all. But the return they got was so light, and for them to trade Doncic away without drumming up a bidding war speaks to how big the problems are between them behind the scenes.