Lakers are making a painful Luka Doncic realization that Mavs fans know too well

The Dallas Mavericks are finally back in action tonight versus the New Orleans Pelicans, as the Mavericks have had a chance to recuperate over the week-long hiatus for the NBA's All-Star break. Mavericks fans have received a flurry of good news over the past 48 hours, as Dallas signed Moses Brown to semi-address their decimated big man rotation and also got word from head coach Jason Kidd that all three of Dallas' injured rotational big men will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

There's growing optimism within Mavericks fans that they can reconcile this season, and it starts at the top with superstar Kyrie Irving. However, the magnitude of the trade that President of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison made when he swapped Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis cannot be undermined by Mavericks fans, and the Mavericks will have to do much more than survive this injury-riddled stretch if they want to justify the Doncic trade to fans.

The Mavericks' decision to trade Doncic was unequivocally a terrible move considering the package they got in return, but it's without a doubt that Harrison's concerns over Doncic's conditioning and off-court habits were valid concerns, even if they were not heavy enough concerns to warrant trading a 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate.

Lakers fans are realizing Doncic is having a down season

Doncic's inability to get in shape after battling injuries throughout the entire course of last season's NBA Playoffs and subsequently playing in Olympic qualifying competition for Slovenia definitely seemed to affect his playing shape coming into this season. Doncic has come into training camp out of shape multiple seasons in a row before, but he's always ramped himself into a better athlete and a more conditioned player toward the back half of the regular season.

However, there's probable cause to assume his recent injury struggles have been prompted by Doncic having to go through this burdensome process to get in shape every season, and this is a painful realization that Los Angeles Lakers fans are just starting to realize. By no means is Doncic washed or not a top-five player in the league, and this is not a means of justification for Dallas trading him, but the Lakers are inevitably going to experience some growing pains with Doncic that Mavericks fans know all too well.

Doncic is obviously coming off a rough calf strain on Christmas day, but he hasn't looked like his idealistic self by any means through three games with the Lakers thus far. This can certainly be attributed to adjusting to a new team and system of course, but Doncic undoubtedly doesn't appear to be moving as well as we've ever seen him nor is he in the best shape of his career.

In three contests with the Lakers so far, Doncic is averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game with notable rough shooting splits of 35.6/20.8/58.3. The Lakers and first-season head coach JJ Redick are certainly still figuring out how to fully optimize their system around Doncic and LeBron James, and it's without a doubt that Doncic will start to play better the more comfortable he gets in this new system as well as his when his calf gets back to 100 percent comfortability.

But Lakers fans certainly have to be concerned with Doncic's rough start from an efficiency perspective, and this is something Mavericks fans weren't pedestrian to this season. Doncic hadn't been near the MVP-caliber player that he was last season even when he was healthy throughout the course of his time with Dallas this season, and it may take him a full offseason to get fully acclimated in Los Angeles and realize the steps he needs to take to get back toward his peak potential.

Harrison's bet on Doncic never reaching his full potential due to his off-court habits is an insane gamble, but through three games with the Lakers his bold assumption has not proved to be incorrect. All Mavericks fans want to see Doncic prosper in Los Angeles from the standpoint of how much he meant to the city of Dallas, but Harrison would look a lot smarter if Doncic's injury/conditioning issues end up hampering him from reaching his full potential with the Lakers.