{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "Tim MacMahon is a talented writer — his NBA coverage speaks to that. He's knowledgable and well-positioned to write this book. He didn't have sufficient access to Dončić himself and the book would be better if he had. He had the access typical of a beat reporter and the knowledge that comes with that, which does make this a compelling read. The opening chapter did not age well and that's not at all MacMahon's fault. He speaks to the need, the desperate all-consuming need for Dallas to keep a star like Dončić after drafting him. He's a generational talent, easily among the top 3 players in the league with a game modeled after LeBron James and Magic Johnson. Those are superlative and accurate comparisons. He's a savant. He's also now on the Lakers. Dončić is on the Lakers because the same dysfunctional front office made perhaps the most shocking and baffling trade in NBA history. What do you do after Luka carries you to the finals with a sprained knee and while taking pain injections for an injury to his ribs? You lambast him relentlessly for being out of shape and then trade him to the Lakers for an oft-injured Anthony Davis who's 7 years older. You say you traded him to be a defense-first team but, well, you kind of already were that. You were great on defense. Luka can be too, but carrying the offense load he did (only to be capably spelled by Kyrie Irving) is exhausting. Does he play himself into shape? Sometimes — sometimes — but he also plays for his home country's national team and plays a lot of basketball . Luka's a Laker. Bizarre. You get some of Luka's history, you get a compelling re-telling of the failed pairing with Kristaps Porziņģis and Dallas' run to the finals. Will they get back to the finals? I doubt it — I truly do. Kyrie, Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis is a compelling core, but they're all pushing their mid-30s with a long list of injuries. You make bad decisions like letting Jalen Brunson walk for nothing after he asked for an incredibly reasonable deal, you misuse Porziņģis and then you finally get an excellent roster around Luka only to trade him. I'm not anyone will ever figure any of these moves out. I'm speaking with the benefit of hindsight, but sheesh. You thought the Westbrook trade was bad? Dallas has you beat. If you're a Luka fan — this is well worth the read. If you were a Mavs fan before the Luka trade, this is probably just salt in the wound. : I'm a Lakers fan — I love Anthony Davis and what he brought to the team. He has an injury history.",
  "path": "/reading/books/9781538740712/the-wonder-boy",
  "publishedAt": "2025-04-14T00:00:00Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:sttgf52vkk46f6yuknvqxvgh/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "nba",
    "nonfiction",
    "sports"
  ],
  "title": "The Wonder Boy"
}