Luka Doncic's transformation reveals blunt truth about Mavericks' controversial trade

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, 2025, will go down as one of the most controversial moves in sports history, and Dallas has gotten grilled for it ever since. Even though there was some reason for Nico Harrison to be concerned about Doncic's conditioning, as that had been one of his weaknesses for some time, it was nowhere near enough of a reason to trade him, and now Doncic is making Dallas pay.

Doncic donned the cover of the Men's Health Summer Special edition, and it seems like he is truly dialed in on fixing his conditioning. Even though being traded to the Lakers lit a fire underneath him to improve his habits, this was a progression that was going to happen either way, whether the Mavericks traded him or not. Doncic had been working with his body team for multiple years, even hiring a nutritionist in 2023, and he was always destined to finally break through and get into peak physical shape.

According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, "Sources in Luka Dončić’s inner circle believed he was on the path toward this kind of physical transformation even if he was never traded from Dallas."

Luka Doncic's transformation was coming, with or without the trade

Woike dives into how, as Doncic got older, his body team believed that he would begin to take his conditioning programs more seriously (subscription required). Doncic's body team has been working hard with him for multiple years, and Doncic has finally put the entire league on notice for how hard he has been working this summer.

Doncic's body looks as slim as it ever has, and he went through intense workouts twice a day while in Croatia. He has also been adhering to a strict diet that includes at least 250 grams of protein every day, and this strict eating and workout plan has ultimately turned him into even more of a monster.

Even though the trade seems like the event that set this plan into motion, Doncic was always on track to get into peak physical shape, and he likely would have had this intense of a summer either way. Even if Dallas hadn't traded Doncic, he would have entered the offseason following a disappointing season (according to his standards) with a drive to get into better physical shape.

Doncic played a career-low 50 games last season, and he likely knew that he needed to get stronger if he wanted to stay on the court next season. His nagging calf injury ultimately plagued his season, and even though he took his time before making his Lakers debut, he wasn't consistently the player that NBA fans had been used to watching.

With him entering his eighth year in the NBA, he would have been as motivated as ever to transform his body. Doncic wants to win an NBA title as badly as he wants to breathe, and for him to lead his team to that goal, he had to get in better shape.

That's exactly what he did this summer, and Mavericks fans will always be wishing that Nico Harrison never traded him. Doncic was maybe a bit too content in Dallas over the first six and a half seasons in his career, which happens, but the Mavericks should have been a bit harder on him to express how serious they were about him getting in shape.

It doesn't seem like Dallas had enough tough conversations with him about getting his conditioning in check, and even if the Mavericks hadn't traded him, it seems like the offseason leap he is having right now was always destined to happen.