Former 7 x NBA champion Robert Horry has warned the Lakers off targeting Mavs superstar Luka Doncic.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor brought the rumor to light recently when he said LA “have their sights set on Luka in the future”, but it would obviously depend on how thing pan out in Dallas over the next few seasons.
O’Connor furthered his argument by saying, “the Lakers by not trading their future picks clearly are still thinking long-term at this point.”
Doncic is the favorite to take out MVP in 2024-25, but Horry still thinks signing him should be avoided, especially if the Lakers can only do it at the end of contract with the Mavs.
“You got to think about this, Luka is going to be how old,” Horry said on the Big Shot Bob podcast. “…He ain’t the best defensive player now, and that’s the Lakers’ problem. You gotta have some athletic guys that can play some defense, and Luka, he can score with the best of them, but we also know you gotta take beers out of his hand because he ain’t the one to stay in shape. He gonna be good, but he ain’t gonna be what you need probably.”
Doncic is currently under a five-year, $215 million contract with Mavs, so is set to remain there through the 2026-27 season. His final year has a player option.
During the 2023-24 season, the Slovenian superstar led the NBA in scoring with an average of 33.9 points per game, plus 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists.
His is the reason the Mavericks made it all the way to the NBA Finals, but he ran out of gas once the franchise got there. This wasn’t helped by the fact that his running mate, Kyrie Irving’s, production dipped in the Finals.
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