Mavericks' excuse for trading Luka Doncic just got fully exposed by former teammate

Dallas Mavericks fans have been heartbroken over the last month, and the heartbreak has continued into this week as Kyrie Irving tore his ACL on Monday night, simultaneously removing any hope that fans had about a potential deep playoff run.

Fans can't escape the pain that came along with trading Luka Doncic, and as more time goes on, Nico Harrison's decision to trade the 26-year-old superstar looks more and more puzzling. Even with more leaks continuing to emerge, Dallas' logic behind this trade still makes no sense, and fans are furious with everything that has come out over the last few weeks. There has been no sense of closure about everything that has happened, and there may never be.

From concerns about Doncic's conditioning to not wanting to sign him to a supermax extension, Dallas' flawed stance on this situation and what they think of Doncic as a player and person deep down has become more clear, but not without backlash. The entire process has been disrespectful, and people aren't standing for it.

Irving called for the team to temper back on this public criticism of Doncic, and one of his former teammates even went as far as to disprove what was leaked about Doncic.

Former Mavs guard shatters false claims about Doncic's work ethic

Quentin Grimes was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline a few days after Doncic was moved, and he was also shocked that he got traded. He was playing some of the best basketball of his career in Dallas, and his ability to create his own shot, score in bunches, and play sound perimeter defense was strong. He was recently asked about the trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and he came to Doncic's side amid all of the flaming arrows flying toward him.

According to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Grimes stated that he would always see Doncic at the Mavs practice facility when he would go shoot late at night as well as at weights sessions on off days. This silences the narrative the Mavericks painted of Doncic not being a hard worker, and Grimes clearly isn't cool with what has been said about him.

"It’s just a narrative around him," Grimes said about Doncic. "Once a narrative gets thrown out there, everybody just runs with it. Whatever they’re saying, if he’s 270 (pounds) and he gets to the finals, let him be 270 then. It’s crazy."

Rumors of Doncic being 270 pounds earlier this season surfaced following the trade, and Grimes' take on it is the exact way that fans felt about it. Regardless of what Doncic weighed, he took the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, and he was poised to do the same again over the next few years and deep into the future.

The concerns over Doncic's conditioning and weight were completely overblown, and now he is on a mission to prove everyone wrong. Doncic is playing at an elite level in Los Angeles, and they are looking like one of the best teams in the NBA recently while the Mavericks have struggled significantly.

Success is so hard to come by in the NBA and rather than building around Doncic for the future, they traded him out of nowhere for an insufficient trade package while trashing his name while they were at it. This is the last thing that the fan base and the city of Dallas would have wanted, and it shows.

Even former Mavericks are coming out to protect Doncic, and the future couldn't look any darker in Dallas. The Mavericks thought they could move on from Doncic and still contend, but in reality, they may never recover.