Lakers' Dorian Finney-Smith Defends Luka Dončić After Weight, Conditioning Rumors
There have been rumors that one of the motivations for the Dallas Mavericks shockingly trading superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers was the team's frustrations over his conditioning habits and weight, which gave them reservations about signing him to the five-year, $345 million supermax contract he would have been eligible for over the summer.
Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith had his own take on the matter.
"S--t, if I'm putting up them type of numbers, maybe I need to be 270 [pounds]," he told reporters on Wednesday.
That has mirrored the general astonishment over the Mavericks cutting ties with Dončić.
"I don't care what he does," an All-Star told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon regarding Dončić's weight and conditioning habits. "He still goes out and gives you 33-9-9 every night."
Markieff Morris echoed those sentiments.
"He's a great guy. Super low maintenance. One of the only guys I've been on a team with that'll play though any injury if he can get on the court," he told reporters. "I hear stuff about him not being in shape, but if you can go in an NBA game and get 30, 15 and 10 like it's nothing, then I don't know what shape is."
Regardless of Dončić's habits, he's averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game this season, and that's something a down year for him (he's played in only 22 games due to injury). Last year, he led the NBA in scoring with 33.9 points per game and added 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per contest.
And those aren't hollow numbers—in the team's run to the NBA Finals last season, he posted 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot.
More importantly, Dončić is just 25 years old and has been a first-team All-NBA selection in five straight seasons. He's just entering his prime years and he's already a top-five player in the sport. Those types of guys simply don't get traded unless they demand it.
Dallas' loss is the Lakers' gain. While the Lakers will want to see Dončić take care of his body and extend his prime as long as possible, they'll be more than happy with the elite production they get from him in the interim.
