Luka Doncic Rumors

Dave McMenamin: “When you play against the world champions and [miss] having a guy that averages 34 [points] and eight [rebounds] and nine [assists] and is that special, that’s [a major piece missing]” - LeBron James providing context to the Lakers’ offensive woes, while Luka Doncic is out

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During his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Ujiri spoke candidly about taking over following the ill-fated trade that left so many Mavs fans scarred. He went back to his African roots to send a message to a fan base needing hope for the future. “I want to be very respectful to everybody here, and yes, there’s a healing process with that. Luka’s a future Hall of Famer. That’s the past,” Ujiri told reporters. “In Africa, we say when kings go, kings come. And a king went, and we have a little prince here that we’re gonna turn into a king.”

Larry Brown Sports

Oh No He Didn't: Q: Where do you think the offensive issues are coming from right now? LeBron: "The offensive issues coming from? We have a guy that averaged 37 a game. There's the issues right there"

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Abby Jones: Masai Ujiri said he wants to bring calmness to the position and was asked about the Luka Dončić trade. “We have a saying in Africa, we say, ‘when kings go, kings come’ and a king went [Luka] and we have a little prince [Cooper Flagg] here now. He’s turning into a king and I think we have to start thinking that way.”

Twitter

Dave McMenamin: Luka Doncic, getting up shots Monday. When asked about his availability for Game 1, JJ Redick said, “no update.”

Twitter

Doncic is dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered April 2. And right now, nearly five weeks removed, he’s still tethered. He’s been able to do light on-court movement and some spot shooting. No full-speed running. No contact. No 1-on-1 drills. In other words, he’s still a ways away from being available in this series. Sources told The California Post on Sunday that he’s expected to miss at least the first two games of the series. That news was not unexpected, but it’s still hard to swallow for Lakers fans hoping to defy the odds for the second consecutive series.

New York Post

NBA Courtside: Brian Windhorst on Luka injury update: “He is not close. There is a whole ramp up that’s required from a hamstring and he has not started that contact ramp up yet…. Do not expect I see Luka the first few games of this series”

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Dan Woike: No update on Luka Dončić from JJ Redick. Everyone else was available for practice today.

Twitter

Justin Martinez: Shams Charania says Luka Doncic will miss the start of Los Angeles' series against OKC. He's being evaluated on a week-to-week basis for his Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Twitter

Clemente Almanza: Mark Daigneault on Luka Doncic: “It’d be best for everybody if everybody was available all the time. That'd be the best product for the fans, best for me, best for the teams, best for the players. It's obviously not realistic. We go into every series preparing for every possibility.”

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Jeanie Buss: I mean, in order to trade somebody like Anthony Davis, it would have to be with approval. Not only that, but a first round draft pick and certainly getting a player of Luka's caliber and being at the beginning end of his career was just an extraordinary opportunity, but it required a lot of strategy and a lot of small steps in order to pull it off. and Rob Pelinka, our general manager, was able to do that all without leaking to the media because I think Mark Cuban might have jumped in front of a train to keep it from happening. 

YouTube

NBA on Prime: "This remains a slow build towards a return." @CassidyHubbarth with the latest on Luka Doncic ✍️

Twitter

Lakers Daily: John Ireland says Luka isn’t close to returning “He’s not close. He’s not running yet.”

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NBA Courtside: Jeanie Buss on how the Luka Doncic trade went down: “Dallas wanted Anthony Davis and he was on our team. Conversations started but it was important they remained private…. Those conversations started in the beginning of January… Rob Pelinka was able to pull it off all without it leaking to the media because I think Mark Cuban would’ve jumped in front of a train to keep it from happening. Nobody knew including Luka, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James. We had a game in New York that night, the coach knew this was going to happen but he still had to coach the game. It wasn’t a distraction” (Via https://youtu.be/gHPMuGZe3IE?si=gMgVyp6VAiYhwCrL…)

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