Ex-Maverick’s motivated offseason should make Nico Harrison nervous

If you thought questions about Luka Doncic’s conditioning would disappear just because Nico Harrison no longer pushes the narrative, you’d be mistaken. A couple of recent NBA insider reports, including one this week from SportsDay alum Marc Stein, contend the new face of the Lakers franchise is “incredibly committed to his conditioning” and, in fact, has already “dropped significant weight.”

Of course, we’ve heard and seen this before. Luka goes home to Slovenia, hits the sauna and posts a couple selfies of his summer glow-up.

Then in January it looks like he might be driving through Freddy’s Frozen Custards after games for a concrete on the way back to the crib.

Mavericks

Conventional thinking is you should take these reports about his conditioning with a grain of salt, if not a dollop of whipped cream. Time and before-and-after photos will tell us about Luka’s commitment to his swimsuit-season look.

Just the same, here’s what should give Nico pause, not to mention nightmares:

What if Luka really means it this time? What if hanging around LeBron James at the gym made him a believer? What if he doubles down on his cardio?

What if his motivation now is to stick it up Nico’s assertations?

Because if Luka made All-NBA first team five times when he’s a half-court heave from peak physical condition, imagine what he’d do when not sucking wind?

Could he avoid those pesky injuries that have kept him from playing more than 66 games just twice in seven seasons? Could he play a little more defense? Could he extend his All-NBA stretch another decade or more?

Could he reposition the Lakers as the center of the NBA universe along the way?

Nico is banking he’ll do none of the above or else he wouldn’t have traded him to a rival in the same conference. He’s so sure of it, he didn’t need long-term assurances such as multiple first-round picks. The forbidden notion of swapping a 26-year-old superstar for another six years older didn’t bother him. Why? Because he figures Luka’s All-Star window is no more wide open than Davis’, and the latter gives him a better shot at winning now, anyway.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) high fives fans as he exits the arena after an NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Dallas.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)

For the record, let me repeat that I don’t necessarily disagree with some of Nico’s concerns about Luka. We’re not alone. Reggie Miller called out Luka during a broadcast a couple years ago. Reporters wouldn’t keep writing about his offseason workouts if it wasn’t a concern, and Luka wouldn’t keep posting pics.

My layman’s take on Luka based on years of field study is he’s a basketball savant who developed a killer instinct while hooping against grown men. While it no doubt accelerated his growth, it also probably contributed to the deferred adolescence we’ve witnessed when it comes to taking care of himself.

He’s also just 26, and as the father of four children at least the same age, let’s just say adulthood is occasionally a moving target.

Basically, whatever Luka’s shortcomings, they don’t rise to the level of dumping a generational player early in his prime.

Rob Pelinka was all too glad that Nico was ready to do so. As the Lakers’ general manager said after the trade, the opportunity to acquire “a one-of-a-kind young superstar who will lead this franchise for years to come” doesn’t come around often. Never, even. ESPN not only ranked it just this week as the worst deal of the decade, the worldwide leader also called it “the worst, and perhaps the most shocking, transaction in NBA history.”

So there’s that.

The Lakers are all-in on Luka, if you were wondering. Before he went shopping for new players, according to reports, Pelinka asked for Luka’s list. Not LeBron’s. Luka suggested a rim-runner in Deandre Ayton as well as Flower Mound Marcus’ own Marcus Smart, who might help cover up some of Luka’s defensive deficiencies.

First, though, Smart, 31, needs to get in better shape himself. Stein reports that a lack of conditioning last year with the Wizards was “an undeniable issue” for the former Defensive Player of the Year. The potential upside of his addition could thus be twofold.

Maybe what the Mavs should have done instead of trading Luka was to get him a workout buddy.

For his part, Nico seems to believe all has worked out just fine for the Mavs after Cooper Flagg fell in their laps. Could be why he claimed the night of the draft that “fortune favors the bold.”

There was nothing bold about lucking into Flagg, but it certainly took some gall to trade Luka.

Flagg’s addition redeems the Mavs’ future and, as long as everyone’s healthy, strengthens their chances of winning now. The problem is Nico improved a rivals’ chances, too. Now and into the next decade. As a bonus, he gave the new face of the Lakers the motivation to do what the Mavs wanted from him all along. The irony would make O. Henry weep.

On a related note, Luka should remember the wisdom of Jim Bouton, who related in “Ball Four” the words of a great philosopher:

Whitey Ford always said that the way to make coaches think you’re in shape in the spring is to get a tan. It makes you look healthier and at least five pounds lighter.

Never got off a sandlot myself, but the principle holds. When choosing a sunscreen’s SPF, I always go with “well done.”

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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