Mavs Donuts: We’re Really Ripping Luka as Harden-Like ‘Ball Hog’?

The suggestion from Nelson that Luka’s 'lack of basketball maturity' is the centerpiece of Dallas’ Round 1 playoff loss to the Clippers is absurd. And the reverberations from the comment are dangerous.

DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks have issues. And maybe because of the well-meaning but misguided analysis of GM Donnie Nelson, some in the media seem to be coming to the conclusion that the Mavs’ problem is …

Luka Doncic?!

My buddy Mac Engel, the talented Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist, is taking that position, and is so ferociously and extensively wrong that it provides a full Mavs Donuts worth of retorts.

To wit …

DONUT 1: TOILET BOWL “The solutions are toilet-bowl messy,” Mac writes. “It starts by taking the ball out of Luka Doncic’s hands.

“When it comes to ball hogs, our Luka Doncic is a 'ball hippo'.”

But ... Doncic’s ball dominance is not the same as “ball-hogging.” Indeed, Engel himself points out that Luka in the regular season averaged 8.6 assists per game and that in postseason, that figure jumped to 10.3.

How does more assists equate to less passing?

DONUT 2: LUKA = HARDEN “The James Harden Routine,” Mac writes, “must stop.”

Engel is clever in invoking the name of the imminently hate-worthy Harden here. (you will notice Harden‘s name in the headline on these Donuts; we get it.)

But Harden’s selfishness manifested itself this year and ways that extend well beyond the court. His fat guy/strip-club/nonchalance - all in a successful ploy to escape Houston in order to join the championship-worthy Nets - is symbolic of everything that is wrong with the NBA.

Luka is the league’s least selfish superstar. He feels complimented when his skills are compared to Harden’s.

But he should be insulted by this.

DONUT 3: DONNIE’S FAULT “Part of his maturity,” Nelson said at season’s end, “is knowing how to balance all of those kill shots with involving teammates at the right time.”

The suggestion from Nelson that Luka’s “lack of basketball maturity” is the centerpiece of Dallas’ Round 1 playoff loss to the Clippers is absurd.

My admiration and friendship for Donnie Nelson is no secret. But …

DONUT 4: BABYING KP These remarks continue a season-long continuation of this organization’s coddling of Kristaps Porzingis. And I am not talking about being careful with his knees; I am talking about the franchises blind tolerance of his incessant moping and pouting and whining.

DONUT 5: LUKA MATURITY? Doncic’s maturity is such a given that this organization doesn’t have to say anything to “cushion” its thoughts. 

READ MORE: Luka Doncic Plans to Sign $201.5 Million Extension

(Though maybe that is unwise; I want Luka to have more than 201.5 million reasons to stay in Dallas. And no, even after visiting 1-on-1 with Mark Cuban on the subject, I cannot allow a gambling/analytics guy to get in the way of any of it.)

DONUT 6: KP MATURITY? It is an open secret that Porzingis is disgruntled around here in part because he arrived in Dallas from New York believing he would be a co-star … and instead, simply put, the other costar became a better player and Porzingis became a poorer player.

In the middle of this playoff run, Porzingis chose to visit a strip club. That must mean he’s over 21; but it certainly does not mean he’s mature.”

And while the media laughed it off, I promise you, people at Mavs headquarters are not laughing.

DONUT 7: TRUST KP: Mac writes this is about KP “being trusted to do what he’s paid to do, and then actually doing it.”

I’ll handle that first assertion first: Porzingis has establish that he cannot be trusted to do what he’s paid to do. At $30 million a year he’s paid to basically be the best player on a good team - that is a superstar salary.

There is no one in basketball today would argue with a straight face that Kristaps Porzingis is a superstar performer.

DONUT 8: ‘THEN DO IT’ Do we really think that KP’s ineffectiveness is about the Mavs’ unwillingness to pass him the ball? The truth is in conflict with that. Witness Game 3 against the Clippers, with Dallas rolling to a 2-0 series lead (with no help from KP) … and Dallas is first replays of that game were called for Porzingis.

The. First. Three. Plays.

It is Mac’s believe that Porzingis was basically emasculated. He writes, “What Rick Carlisle did to KP in the 2021 NBA playoffs is akin to what happens to what they do to race horses when they no longer want it to be a boy horse.“

Funny.

But in the interest of presenting all sides, we would point out that the Knicks thank he arrived in New York from Latvia already lacking in the "brass ones'' area.

And I am prepared to say that Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson made a horrible error in judgment by believing they knew this player better than the Knicks knew him.

DONUT 9: ACQUIRE A GUARD Mac is right about this one, though he suggests Chris Paul (while acknowledging how impossible that is). We will suggest North Texas native Marcus Smart. Or Doncic idol Goran Dragic. Or any number of guards or aren't stars. (Or, heck, go get a star in Kemba Walker.)

READ MORE: Mavs' Next Move? Cuban Reveals What Luka Needs

But yeah, somebody who can play in tandem with Doncic, help him with the mundane task of bringing the ball up the floor (Which it seems Luca is required to do virtually every single possession) … and someone who can both shoot and pass.

Of course, if Luka’s backcourt mate can shoot and pass …

Guess which Mav is going to see his points and assists skyrocket?

And then we will again call him a “ball hog.”

DONUT 9: ACQUIRE A STAR Mac is wrong on this one, saying this free-agent class is lacking. That may turn out technically to be accurate. But it can be generally "wrong” because player acquisition is not just about free agency. In fact, in the case of the Mavericks, it’s much, much more complicated than that.

A quick sketch:

-Let's use $112.4 mil as the projected cap figure.

-Let's use $34.4 mil as Dallas' cap space without having signed Tim Hardaway Jr. (yet).

-Let's figure Josh Richardson opts out of his $11.6 mil.

-Let's assume Dallas doesn't pick up Willie Cauley-Stein's team option.

-So ... Hardaway gets paid, say, $20 million.

-That leaves $14.4 million in cap room - not enough to accomplish anything monumental.

-So ... we circle back to the Big Calculator. If we keep KP and Hardaway, we simply don't have much room to do much else. We can make an over-the-cap trade with Richardson, maybe? And sign somebody to the full-MLE?

Nothing "monumental,'' still.

-At which point you consider trading Porzingis for a piece - a non-star starter in return is all you're looking for, because after all, isn't that all he is? A "non-star starter''? - a piece that is less expensive than KP is.

Find a way to save, say, $10 mil in such a trade and now you've got $24 million in room. Now you are a buyer.

By the way: None of this means "cap room is king.'' Being a "destination city'' is king. And if Luka Doncic cannot help his bosses be this, then his bosses should eventually get fired.

But "buyer'' can still come as a result of having the room to make a signing or make a trade. And trading KP is a viable way to get there.

Mac writes, “Expect rumors to fly the Mavs are trying to trade KP, who is signed for three more seasons at $30 million plus. Good luck with that.”

READ MORE: Is Kristaps Porzingis Nearing His End With Dallas Mavericks?

The Mavs will indeed need luck. But it says here that the organization’s unhappiness with Porzingis (not to mention Luka’s) Will not lead to rumors about trade attempts.

It will lead to trade attempts.

Do the cap math and you’ll realize a viable way to add to the roster is by subtracting “The Unicorn.”

DONUT 11: TRIPLE-DOUBLE BLUES Engel writes, “All of those Luka triple-double stats are intoxicating, but they come with a price.”

Well yes, and “the price” is that Doncic is exhausted. Don’t be surprised if in the coming days it is revealed that Luka has been dealing with an illness of some sort - The result of simply being run down.

Monitor this.

For now: Does anybody who knows Luka Doncic really believe that he wouldn’t happily sacrifice a basket, an assist, or a rebound …

If his 7-3 “co-star” could have produced for his team just one more basket, one more assist, one more rebound?

DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD Mac writes, “The Mavs have seen how far they can go with Luka doing everything but selling Texas Dawgs on the concourse at halftime, and it looks similar to how far the Houston Rockets traveled with Harden.

“You can’t win it all built around a player who holds the ball this much.”

More talent would mean more sharing, for sure. But the Dallas Mavericks can, will, must pursue their title while building around Luka Doncic.

And only after they’ve truly done so, and then failed again and again, will it really be the fault of team MVP Luka Doncic.

READ MORE: Top 12 Exit Interview Quotes - What Luka Says