CHARLOTTE – Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said the organization is ready, willing and able to offer Luka Doncic
whatever help he needs.
After Friday’s 117-109 disappointing loss at home to the Charlotte Hornets, Doncic voluntarily said he was dealing with some personal issues, although he did not go into what they were.
“I think you can see it with me on the court,” Doncic said. “Sometimes I don’t feel it’s me. I’m just being out there.
“I used to have really fun smiling on the court. But it’s just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball.”
Before Sunday’s rematch against the Hornets at the Spectrum Center, Kidd was adamant in saying the Mavs will wrap their arms around Doncic and be there for him in whatever capacity he needs.
“I think you have to give Luka credit for saying that,” Kidd said. “He’s human. I’ve said this before, we take people for granted at times, but he spoke his truth, and that’s fine.
“As an organization our job is to help, so we’re helping. Hopefully you’ll see that smile today. And that swagger. And I will bet that you see it. But he is 24 years old, and he is going through a tough time.”
Guard Kyrie Irving also said he and the Mavs will stand by and be there for Doncic.
“First off I just want to say I don’t think we should be surprised as players when someone says they have human emotions, and especially when it comes to basketball at the highest level,” Irving said. “I just don’t think it should be a surprise, but it is a big deal.
“I’m sure he’s had some private time to acknowledge it, but when you acknowledge it in the public eye, I think it’s usually suppressed emotions from a long period of time and he just wanted to get it out and get it off his chest, and I’m proud of him for being honest and open. We obviously talked about it in the locker room briefly. But for me, again, I’ve said throughout my whole entire year this past year, I’m just really paying attention to the human element.”
Kidd acknowledged that the first step toward helping Doncic get his smile back and get back on solid footing is to: “Spend some time with him, and that’s what we’ll do. I think his playground is the court.
“Again, for him to come out and say that he’s not having fun, I think that takes courage. You guys can speculate or make up things, but just take what he said is the truth. We got to get back — including him – to having fun. Losing isn’t fun. If there’s other things that are going on, we want to try to help him with that, too.”
Irving said everyone should rally around Doncic during this period of time.
“The wins and losses come and go, but the kind of nitpicking and judgment of what’s going on when someone says I’m having human emotions, and then it goes to what’s the blame or who’s the blame, and it starts pointing fingers,” Irving said. “That’s the aspect that I don’t enjoy about this sport at all, because there’s a human element that goes into this where we perform every single day.
“But again, I’m grateful that he was honest. But we just got to help him and support him as best we can, and I’ve been going through personal things myself as well. We just got to really put our arm around him as a brother and as a human being, and as humanity we should care, too. The wins and losses will come and go, but I just want him to be OK.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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