The Los Angeles Lakers did not choose their words wisely…
Everyone remembers the infamous narratives about how Nico Harrison tried to justify the Luka Doncic trade to the public. Concerns about Doncic’s defense, conditioning, and other problems of the sort were apparently enough reason to ship away a top five player in the world.
The Los Angeles Lakers clearly did not hold as many reservations about the Slovenian superstar when they stepped in and took Doncic off the Mavericks’ hands in the biggest blockbuster trade of the 2024-25 NBA season. Is that still the case?
The first inkling of doubt came when JJ Redick appeared to take a subtle jab at Doncic following the Lakers’ premature playoff exit. The Lakers head coach used a very particular choice of words following the series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
”We have to get in championship shape,” Redick told Jovan Buha of the roster, citing issues with some of his players.
While no direct assertion was made towards Doncic, many chose to read between the lines. As was the case with this next odd story from Hollywood.
Nico Harrison doing backflips after latest Lakers verbiage
A job posting from the Lakers made the rounds today. The opening was for a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach in Los Angeles. The position summary of the listing was where some people’s eyebrows were raised.
It said, “The [position] ensures that each player has an individually designed strength and conditioning plan to promote and support his maximum performance and health maintenance. This role implements, monitors, and adjusts player workouts year-round as needed.“
One of the key issues some readers found was the further sentiment of the coach being ’responsible for motivating players and holding them accountable for their work in the weight room.’
Were the Lakers indirectly referencing Doncic when drafting up the description of the job? It is way too difficult to make that assumption one way or the other. Nonetheless, the content has left many torn on the subject.
On Get Up, Jay Williams calls it a “massive insult” to Luka Doncic that the Lakers had a job posting for a strength and conditioning coach to “motivate” players. Brian Windhorst calls it “mildly interesting but not insulting”.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) May 14, 2025
This is ultimately not something that deserves the coverage it is getting from certain outlets. If it were not the Lakers, it would probably be brushed off as nothing. However, that is obviously not the case here.
This story is reminiscent of the type of stuff that makes headlines in August when the offseason has hit a lull. Perhaps the second round of the NBA Playoffs has not provided enough entertainment that there is a jumpstart on these sort of talking points.