DALLAS — It’s been a difficult couple of months for Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, from his team’s standings nosedive; to his Most Valuable Player and NBA scoring title chances evaporating; and to, by his own admission, off-court matters partly affecting his on-court joy.
The latest ammo directed at Doncic has been about his leadership, or lack thereof if you listen to ESPN talking heads Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith. And the verbal grenade surprisingly tossed Wednesday by Tim Hardaway Sr., much to his son’s chagrin and disagreement.
Not surprisingly, Mavericks governor Mark Cuban on Wednesday stepped in to take much of the verbal shrapnel and return insults at Perkins and Smith in particular.
“Everybody does it differently,” Cuban said of Doncic’s leadership. “Luka’s great. Luka leaves it all on the court. Luka is who he is.”
Cuban then referred to Doncic’s face-of-the-franchise predecessor, Dirk Nowitzki.
“Dirk, before we won the championship, people were like ‘Oh, Dirk is soft. Dirk is this. Dirk is that.’ Until you get a ring, nobody’s good enough at anything.”
Then Cuban without prompting brought up “the s--- that Stephen A. and KP are saying.” He looked into a reporter’s phone camera and issued a message to former NBA journeyman and scowler Perkins.
“Hey, Kendrick Perkins, this is for you: Thank you. Because you were the best. Every game you ever played in, KP, you were the best player on the court. Unfortunately it wasn’t for your team, but, thank you. But what you say about Luka is wrong. And what Stephen A. says about Luka is wrong.”
A reporter reminded Cuban that Doncic recently took blame for the Mavericks’ woes because, as the team leader, he is the player most responsible for wins and defeats.
“He always says that,” Cuban said. “Luka always takes the blame. And I tell him ‘Don’t take the blame.’ It’s not his fault. I get and I respect that he wants to take the blame, but it’s not on him. It’s still a team game. The s--- that Stephen A., Kendrick “best player in the league” Perkins. What’s his little tagline? Carry on, KP.”
Doncic’s overall contentment, or lack thereof, is of course paramount for the Mavericks organization, both short and long-term.
When Doncic recently admitted that he is more frustrated than at any point of his five seasons as a Maverick, it of course sounded alarm among fans.
Cuban said it’s natural for Doncic to feel frustrated about the franchise’s backslide from last May’s Western Conference finals to fighting for the last play-in tournament berth with two games left.
“Every team that’s had a player for five years has not always just been great,” Cuban said. “Look at the Warriors. They had guys hurt and they lose more than two seasons, basically.
“You can point to teams, the Hawks, everybody, where there’s frustration. It’s not unusual in the NBA, there’s only one winner and everybody else loses.
“That’s just the nature of the industry.”
Cuban reminded that Nowitzki expressed frustration after most of the 20 NBA seasons in which he didn’t win the championship.
“We didn’t always have great chemistry every single season,” Cuban said. “That’s just the nature of the NBA.”
Finally, Cuban was asked about Doncic’s optimism level for remaining a Maverick long-term. Doncic is finishing first season of his five-year, $215 million supermax extension.
“Look, players don’t talk like that, like ‘Hey, I’m here for the next 17 years,’ " Cuban said. “He [Doncic] would like to be here the whole time, but we’ve got to earn that.
“Before Giannis won, everybody’s going, ‘Where’s he going? He’s not staying; he’s not staying.’ Jokic? ‘Well, they haven’t won yet.’ Every single player, Dirk included. There’s just no great player, no superstar, where they don’t question ‘What are you going to do’ if you haven’t won yet?”
Asked what the Mavericks can do to earn Doncic’s long-term contentment, Cuban’s response was simple: “Win a championship. It’s amazing how that cures all.”
