Ex-Maverick's brother criticizes team for viral moment before Luka Doncic-Lakers trade

The list of people criticizing the Mavericks continues to grow.

Jan 10, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. (8) battle for a rebound in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks have been consistently slammed for the last seven weeks since trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The trade has only gotten worse as time has passed, with the Lakers rising up the Western Conference standings and the Mavericks falling.

One of the forgotten-about pieces of that trade was Markieff Morris, a 14-year veteran who was sent to the Lakers to help make the salaries work. He was a well-respected voice in the locker room and is a physical presence when you need it. But his twin brother, Marcus, has made his feelings known about the trade, and how one specific moment didn't sit right with him.

READ MORE: Mark Cuban confirms Luka Doncic-Lakers trade wouldn't happen if he still owned Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks forward Markieff Morris (88) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Marcus Morris recently appeared on a podcast with Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor, and think the team taking away his beer after winning the Western Conference Finals led to this drama.

"As a player, I didn't like how that looked. We just won, we celebrating, I have a beer, there's cameras, and you take that away from me. It's like you're trying to hint at something. I didn't agree with that; I didn't agree how they tried to paint that picture. So now, fast forward, you're painting a picture the entire time that he has a drinking problem, he's overweight. I don't feel as though that has anything to do with his play. Yes, he was injured. A lot of players get injured all the time. A lot of players take a long time to come back. But his production level was through the roof. So how do you sum up, 'OK, it's time to trade this guy?' How did that come to your mind? And then, not only that you trade him, you trade him to the LA Lakers team that you have to see every f---ing year. Four times a year, in the playoffs. So what do you think is about to happen when he goes to the Lakers? He's going to be Luka Doncic 2.0. He's going to kill. He has the best player possibly ever [as a teammate, LeBron James], now he can see the work ethic, now he can see what goes into the day [in] and day [out] of being greatness."

Marcus Morris Sr. thinks the moment Michael Finley took the beer from Luka Doncic says a lot about what ended up happening: https://t.co/gDnQf8yXqi pic.twitter.com/jImfKWaRqL

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 19, 2025

At the time, Michael Finley taking Doncic's beer was just a funny viral moment. But people can look back on it as the first public moment the Mavericks tried to control Doncic's habits. They made changes around the organization to get rid of a lot of people that Doncic liked, but it's another thing to do it like this in front of cameras.

READ MORE: ESPN host rips Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic carrying Lakers

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