The Dallas Mavericks were supposedly worried about Luka Doncic's conditioning and physical health as an excuse for why they made the earth-shattering trade sending him to the LA Lakers last season for Anthony Davis.
Guess what? AD isn't exactly the picture of health for an NBA player. Never has been.
Just 30 minutes into his tenure with the Mavs after the shocking trade last February, Davis went down to an adductor strain and missed 18 consecutive games. He wound up playing all of nine games for Dallas.
This season, it only took until the 5th game of the year for AD to go down to a leg injury. Wednesday night, he came up lame less than eight minutes into the Mavs' game against the Indiana Pacers, reaching for his left Achilles after an innocent-looking play.
Anthony Davis leaves game after grabbing at Achilles
Davis headed to the locker room and didn't return. The Mavericks’ PR team confirmed that AD would not return to the game due to “left lower leg soreness.” That's never a good sign for Davis. Especially due to the fact that he has been suffering from 'bilateral Achilles tendinopathy.' Yikes. And yet the Mavs were playing him for the third game in four days.
Nico Harrison, the Mavericks GM who will forever be known in Dallas (and all over the basketball world) as the man who traded Luka, was seen quietly sneaking out of his seats and heading into the tunnel moments after Davis came off the floor.
Leg injuries have ravaged Davis's career, and he's missed so much time over his 14 NBA seasons that Charles Barkley has famously taken to calling him "Street Clothes". He's topped the 56-game mark just twice in the last seven seasons.
It's another brutal break for the 10-time All-Star, who was off to a sizzling start to the young season, averaging 25 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shot through four games plus eight minutes.
