Did the Dallas Mavericks make a huge mistake trading Luka Doncic or is it the other way around? Well, Shaquille O’Neal surely thinks it’s the latter one. And he didn’t hesitate to speak it out loud during one of his appearances on Inside the NBA. Although he didn’t detail the reason behind his belief, it seems he has dropped a hint through his social media handles.

Shaq recently shared an Instagram story featuring a fiery take from Shannon Sharpe about Luka’s situation, and let’s just say—it’s not looking great for Doncic from a financial standpoint.

“If I’m Luka, I’m sick… I have an opportunity to get $69 million a year. And with no state income tax… I cannot get the supermax now. I’m going to a state that’s 13 percent, about to go to 15 percent state taxes. And I ain’t even mention anything about that 40, 36, 39 percent federal tax. I’m absolutely sick,” Sharpe said.

That’s for sure a serious hit to the bank account. ESPN’s Bobby Marks also reported that Doncic was set to cash in on a five-year, $345 million extension in 2025. But now that he’s in LA? No supermax for him.

Shaq sharing the clip on his IG, with no caption, came as a silent support of sorts to Sharpe’s chain of thought. He was, however, loud and clear during his appearance on Inside the NBA. In front of the cameras, he made sure to get his point across.

“I think Dallas got the better of the trade… For the next two years anyway,” he said.

From a financial point of view, yes, maybe. But not the same can exactly be said about the overall trade. It’s no secret that Anthony Davis’ career in the last few years has been plagued with injury issues. After winning season 2020, he played just 132 games in the subsequent 4 seasons and missed 114 games. Yes, he’s been better since last season but still, it could be a huge gamble for the Mavs.

As for Doncic, Shaq didn’t seem to indicate that Dallas did better by trading Doncic for AD.

Shaquille O’Neal’s defense of Luka Doncic on his alleged conditioning issues

Luka Doncic is a magician with the basketball, but no matter how many jaw-dropping plays he delivers, there’s always one conversation that seems to follow him—his weight. Officially listed at 230 pounds, the five-time All-Star has often been scrutinized for his physique. But if you ask Shaquille O’Neal, he does not see the alleged issues.

During his recent appearance on NBA on TNT, Shaq declared it loud and clear that the Slovenian basketball star does not seem to be out of shape to him. And he does not even understand the discussion around it. “When you say out of shape, is he fat? Does he have a six-pack… Are we talking body fat,” Shaq said.

Shaq doubled down on his stance, sharing a strong statement: “One of my best friends just told me ‘fat Luka is better than 99.9 percent of all the guards in the game.'” Hard to argue with that, right?

Even if weight concerns played a role in the recent trade drama, Shaq wasn’t shy about calling out the Mavericks’ management. He believes they could have handled things differently—because let’s face it, when you have a generational talent like Luka, you find ways to make it work.