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And yet, when NBA insiders criticize Doncic's game, they're quick to add that they're nitpicking. He might be limited on defense, but he can still play multiple spots on the floor, sliding seamlessly into the league's amorphous lineups. When Doncic has the ball, it feels like he's been given a flashlight while everyone else on the court is fumbling in the dark; he sees passing angles before they materialize, making him deadly in the pick-and-roll. "His game is much older than his age," explains one front office higher-up. "All of the stupid clichés you're gonna hear? It's because they're all true." Doncic's shooting percentages have declined over the course of the long season -- 31 percent from 3, 47 percent overall through April 5 -- but his mechanics are sound, suggesting fatigue and shot selection might be undermining his natural ability. Then, just when one is tempted to make too much of this apparent lack of finesse, something clicks. Real Madrid weaves together a series of screens and Doncic cuts inside, then sinks a jumper. A couple of possessions after that, he disrupts a shot and sprints across the court, dunking off a lob and dangling from the rim for a moment like a fish wriggling on a hook. ("He likes doing that," murmurs his agent, Bill Duffy, who is sitting to my left.) Seconds later, he shakes a defender and hits a step-back 3, then a pair of free throws, then one more 3-pointer. Given his age, Doncic's production is almost unprecedented. Not long after that tournament, Real Madrid flew him and his mother to Spain, where the team offered Doncic a multiyear contract, making him one of the youngest players the club had ever recruited from outside the country. For Mirjam, the decision to send him away was agonizing. "I said, 'Maybe you can wait a little bit,'" she says. "He said, 'Mom, I wanna go.'" On her first flight back to Slovenia without him, she wept so violently that the flight attendants had to comfort her. Several of the NBA executives I spoke with characterized Doncic's upbringing as an advantage. They're similarly enthused that he's spent time in locker rooms with veterans. Dragic, who lived with Doncic during Slovenia's EuroBasket run, says he was amazed by how well the younger player adjusted to his role on the team. "I was kind of skeptical at first -- how am I gonna play with Luka, we're both ball-dominant guys? But in the end, we coexisted perfectly," he says. The alternative energy and wine businesses that suffered during Baker’s two years with the Nationals are on the rebound since his return home six months ago. And after a 16-year separation, Baker reunited with the San Francisco Giants on March 26 as A decision that initially left Baker with sleepless nights and hurt because his chance to win a World Series and earn 2,000 victories as a manager was taken from him is looking like it will pan out just fine. The traveling, speaking engagements and rehabilitating his businesses are all well and good, but the most important outcome has been the time spent with his family. As Baker reflects on what being let go by Washington has allowed him to do, he’s thoroughly convinced this season is all part of God’s plan. Baker called a friend to come over and help him pack. Each day he’d pack a little more stuff. Soon it became apparent that he needed to pack everything. On his walls were photos from over the years, and those were the last things he put away. His friend shipped them so Baker could hang them in his San Francisco condo. The Nationals provided a statement via email in response to The Undefeated’s request for comment, the same one they issued when Baker was not re-signed. For a few days, Baker just stayed around the house. Even the thought of his favorite pastimes – fishing and hunting – couldn’t help him cope with his managing career ending the way it did. Melissa, Baker’s wife, said that’s how one knows that he’s in a really bad place. “She knows if I’m not in the mood to go hunting, something’s hurting,” Baker said. “But I’m a big boy, so I got back into my business. Back into my son. … I wasn’t sleeping for awhile. I would wake up in the middle of the night pissed off. Nobody should affect your life like that. I just came to the final conclusion after a couple of weeks and then it slowly subsided. “It’s helped a lot seeing my homies. We don’t talk about it much. … When I come home, it’s all good, man. No matter what happens, it’s good. A lot of [my boys] got me out the house. Baker informed Sabean that he was busy with his Baker Family Wines company and Baker Energy Team business, which just teamed up with the music group Kool & The Gang to take power to Africa. Robert “Kool” Bell has done a number of concerts across the continent and reached out to Baker after Bell’s cousin, Ken Griffey Sr., told him about Baker’s solar company. “I was telling Brian, my first priority is to see my son, because I missed so much of his life,” Baker said. “My second, cause my business suffered while I was in Washington.” More than anything else, Darren Baker wants to be a good teammate. He doesn’t like to be separated from his teammates, and he’s not interested in special privileges – even if he’s given permission to leave early, he’ll tell Baker that he can’t do that. The younger Baker went through a hitting slump, and even then Baker was reluctant to over-coach. He watched his son get frustrated by his lack of offensive production and start to get away from the things that he does well. Darren Baker (center) comes in from the field and is congratulated by his Cal Bears teammates after making a difficult defensive stop at second base. “It’s more nerve-wracking than playing or managing a team,” Baker said. “I want him to do well, especially because Darren is committed to doing well, and all he’s wanted to do since he was a kid was play ball.