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Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont is continuing to comment about why the team parted ways with Luka Doncic. Dumont is implying that dealing Doncic was right for the franchise's culture.
“In my mind the way teams win is by focus, by having the right character, by having the right culture, and having the right dedication to work as hard as possible to create a championship-winning outcome,” Dumont said, per The Dallas Morning News. “And if you’re not doing that, you’re going to lose.”
While Dumont didn't specifically call out Doncic's fit with the team, the words did seem consistent with what Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been saying. Harrison said to the press that new team additions Anthony Davis and Max Christie added to the culture of the team.
Dallas is now 28-25 on the season, after defeating the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Mavericks ownership is defending the decision to trade Luka Doncic
Mavericks fans protested the trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, for Anthony Davis. There were other players involved, but the main cog of the deal were those two players.
There's been much speculation about why Doncic was sent packing. Some of the rumors included concerns about Doncic's conditioning. He was also set to start negotiations with the Mavericks over a long-term contract.
Mavericks governor Dumont didn't comment on all that speculation, but did make some other interesting comments.
“If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq [O’Neal] — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win,” Dumont said. “And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks.
“That’s who we want. I’m unwavering on this. The entire organization knows this. This is how I operate outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.”
When pressed by reporters if those comments applied to Doncic, Dumont went another direction in his response.
“Look, I think there’s a lot of things that come into play when you decide the roster of the team,” Dumont said. “And culture is very important. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Winning a championship without Doncic may be the only thing that will assuage the anger of the fans right now. Just last season, Dallas was in the NBA Finals due to Doncic's play.
The Mavericks next play Sacramento on Monday.
