Dallas Mavericks minority proprietor Mark Cuban steered the group’s large concern about Luka Doncic was rooted in a misunderstanding.
In an appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” Sunday, Cuban addressed the reported considerations the Mavericks had over Doncic’s well being and conditioning. Cuban steered that the Mavericks failed to grasp the cultural variations that include Doncic’s Balkan background, and that Doncic was not missing in depth throughout video games.
“Everyone noticed him. It wasn’t like he was ripped and had a six-pack,” Cuban stated of Doncic. “The largest mistake was in attempting to grasp Luka is he’s from the Balkans. He’s Slovenian. You take a look at (Nikola) Jokic, who’s Serbian, and also you take a look at Serbian gamers normally, it’s only a totally different mindset. They take a look at the sport in a different way. They take a look at life in a different way. The fellows that I’ve gotten to know from that area of the world are totally different. I believe that was what was not thought-about as absolutely because it ought to have been.
“(Doncic) is at all times actually intense on the court docket. You see his response to the referees. You see his response to anyone. Joker won’t be as purely emotional…(however) the man is intense. However when the sport is over and he goes again residence, he’s extra thinking about harness racing. …They return they usually reside their lives. It’s simply totally different. You’ve bought to simply accept these variations in gamers from that a part of the world, and I believe that was a part of our mistake.”
The Mavericks had considerations about Doncic’s damage historical past and off-court habits, and felt that it would lead to “catastrophe” afterward. A few of this may occasionally have been all the way down to a perceived lackadaisical angle towards the sport and towards coaching. Cuban sees it in a different way, and factors to Jokic’s relaxed off-court demeanor as proof that it’s doable to succeed even whereas being very laid-back whereas away from the sport.
Doncic does seem to hold himself to high standards. The Mavericks merely didn’t see his angle like Cuban does. Time will inform which ones is appropriate of their evaluation.
