Luka Doncic's teammate blasts Jason Kidd to rock Mavericks' dream summer

For the first time in what feels like ages, the NBA is at the top of sports news cycles as the league released the regular season schedule for all 30 NBA teams on Thursday. After leaking the Christmas Day schedule and the opening night games, the league has finally given fans what they have been begging for, and the full schedule has been released, which should give the Dallas Mavericks an easy way to begin the season on a hot note. Dallas' summer has been great, as they drafted Cooper Flagg and signed D'Angelo Russell, but some recent news may have just shaken all of that up.

While the schedule release is big news for basketball fans, real basketball is being played overseas in the EuroBasket Tournament, where Luka Doncic and Slovenia are looking to make another statement tournament run after he was traded by the Mavericks just over six months ago. Not only does Doncic look in top shape after two EuroBasket games, but his teammates have been quick to take Doncic's side since being traded away by Dallas.

Since the offseason, Doncic has been on a media campaign to not only bash the Mavericks and prove them wrong, but to show how much better he looks after some of the comments that were made about him after being traded. While Doncic has been one of the leading figures against the Mavericks, one of his Slovenian basketball teammates was quick to call out Jason Kidd on a sneaky detail about Doncic's playstyle.

Doncic's teammate draws a deep cut to Jason Kidd's coaching philosophy

There's no denying that Doncic has been one of the top names in basketball news since being traded away by Dallas, but after some recent comments by Doncic's Slovenian teammate, Klemen Prepelic, to Sports Klub, some of the blame could be put on Kidd and his coaching style with Doncic on the floor.

"Aleksander Sekulic (Slovenian national head coach) is by far the best choice for the Slovenian national team. He knows the players, he knows the system, and he knows what we need," Prepelic told Sport Klub. "He has proven that he belongs at the elite level. As for the critics, here’s my answer: Jason Kidd may be a bigger name, but he couldn’t control Luka’s madness.

Prepelic would go on to add that Doncic must enjoy himself on the court in order to reach his true potential.

"Luka has to be playful. He has to enjoy himself," Prepelic added. "If he didn't enjoy himself, he wouldn't be part of the national team. So why limit him—and everyone else?"

While these comments are not only out of the blue but directed towards Kidd, Prepelic is in defense of the Slovenian national head coach, who has not only helped Slovenia reach one of basketball's highest international stages by winning the 2017 EuroBasket tournament with a young Doncic, but is now the manager of Doncic in his time with the Slovenian national team.

Although FIBA basketball and NBA basketball are two different things, considering some of the rule differences, this shot at Kidd is without a jab towards his philosophy with star players on the court. There's no doubt that at some points in Doncic's tenure with the Mavericks, it became a one-man wrecking crew, but Prepelic believes that giving Doncic the full reins to be himself on the basketball court would be the best recipe for winning.

Prepelic also goes on to mention that Doncic may not have enjoyed himself at times on the floor in Dallas by saying "he has to be playful" and "he has to enjoy himself". This is no doubt a jab to the Mavericks, but also to Kidd by not allowing Doncic to be his full self when with the Mavericks.

If Doncic were still with the Mavericks, these may not be publicly made comments by one of Doncic's teammates, but this, without a doubt, brings a whole new perspective to the Doncic and Dallas trade fallout discussions. It's clear that Doncic seems to believe that Kidd was in on the trade, as they never interact when the teams play each other, and the world may never know if the reports that Kidd was angry about the trade are the real story or not.