A viral moment surfaced during the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Finals run that led to some backlash from fans. Luka Doncic was seen drinking a beer in celebration after the Western Conference Finals. Mavs assistant general manager Michael Finley took the beer out of Doncic’s hand as cameras caught the incident on video.
At the time, although it drew some backlash, fans laughed it off for the most part. When the Mavs traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, however, the video went viral once again as rumors swirled over the Mavs having concerns about Doncic’s conditioning.
Marcus Morris Sr., an NBA veteran who is also the brother of Markieff Morris, who was included in the Mavs-Lakers Luka Doncic-led trade, recently reacted to the moment and shared his honest opinion, via Kevin O’Connor.
“When I see Michael Finley take that beer out of his hand, I know a lot of people might not have looked at that, but as a player, I didn’t like how that looked,” Morris said. “We just won, we celebrating… have a beer. There’s cameras and you kind of take that away from me. It’s like, almost you’re trying to, like, hint at something, right? As a player… I didn’t agree with that. I didn’t agree how they kind of tried to paint that picture.”
Marcus Morris Sr. reacts to Luka Doncic-Michael Finley situation
As mentioned, there have been rumors about the Mavs’ concern over Doncic’s conditioning as a reason for the trade. There have been other rumors, and again these are just rumors and the team has not said anything on the matter, that there have been concerns about Luka’s drinking. Morris addressed those rumors as well.
“So now fast forward, you kind of painting that picture that entire time that he has a drinking problem,” Morris continued. “That he’s overweight… I don’t feel as though that has anything to do with his play. Yes, he was injured. A lot of players get injured all the time. A lot of players take a long time to come back.
“But his production level is through the roof… How do you sum up, ‘okay, it’s time to trade this guy,’ how does that come to your mind? And then, not only that you trade him, you trade him to the LA Lakers, a team that you have to see every f**king year, four times a year.”
In the end, the trade came to fruition and Luka Doncic ended up with the Lakers. Los Angeles is in serious playoff contention, while the Mavs have battled no shortage of injuries since the trade. Dallas is hoping to clinch an NBA Play-In Tournament spot.
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