Souhan: Minnesota has seen a deal like the stunner that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers

A contending team traded one of the three best players in the world over concerns about his attitude.

Analysts asked, “How could this happen?’”

Veteran Vikings could have responded, “Been there, suffered through that.”

In 2005, the Vikings traded wide receiver Randy Moss, future Hall of Famer and one of the most talented players in NFL history, to the then-Oakland Raiders for a first-round draft pick and a linebacker named Napoleon Harris.

The Vikings were thinking the same things about Moss that the Dallas Mavericks were reportedly thinking when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis on Saturday night in one of the most remarkable deals in modern sports history.

According to well-sourced reporters, the Mavericks were unhappy with Doncic’s poor work habits, lack of conditioning, dramatic weight gain and seemingly related injuries. Fans see Doncic as an MVP-caliber future champion. The Mavericks saw him as a bad investment.

Doncic has the ability to make the Mavericks look terrible by starring for the Lakers for the next handful of seasons. If he does so, that won’t mean the Mavericks were wrong. It might mean the Mavericks embarrassed Doncic into being dedicated.

The Vikings found themselves in a similar quandary after the 2004 season, when Moss led them to a playoff victory at Lambeau Field.

Moss was by far their best player. He was also the organization’s dominant personality. He was 28, had long defended his habit of resting on the field when he didn’t think the ball would be thrown his way, and had walked off the field in the fourth quarter when the Vikings were losing to Washington in the season finale, leading to center Matt Birk confronting him in the locker room.

At that time, Moss also made a habit of screaming slurs at reporters and, I was told at the time, occasionally disrupting team meetings.

Unlike Doncic, Moss kept himself in good shape, but he missed three games because of injuries in 2004.

The question asked about the Doncic and Moss trades has been: “How could you trade a player of that caliber?”

The correct question should be: “How badly does a superior athlete have to behave to make an organization desperate to get rid of him?”

The Vikings not only traded Moss, they received little in return. With the seventh pick in the NFL draft, acquired from the Raiders, they chose South Carolina wide receiver Troy Williamson, whom they hoped would replace Moss’ speed and big-play ability.

Williamson could not.

Moss had one decent and one poor season with the Raiders before the New England Patriots traded for him, giving Oakland a fourth-round draft pick.

That’s how the NFL viewed Randy Moss at 30 — worthy of only a fourth-round draft pick.

To Moss’ credit, he proved with New England that he was one of the best receivers ever, and only a late Eli Manning touchdown pass kept him from being remembered for making the touchdown catch that sealed the first 19-0 record in league history.

Moss burnished his Hall of Fame credentials in New England.

Would he have done so had he stayed in Minnesota?

Similarly, Doncic is going to a storied franchise while in his prime, with the opportunity to make his former employers look foolish.

On Monday night, the Wolves faced the Sacramento Kings, who just traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio and acquired former Wolf Zach LaVine.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon. Wolves coach Chris Finch has indicated that his team is not looking to make major changes.

Asked his reaction to the Doncic deal, Finch said: “Shocked. But my shock lifted pretty quickly, just because it’s the NBA right now and I think anything can happen. I think the new CBA environment is going to throw up more of these types of trades, because organizations — it’s a lot of money, and they’re going to think twice about how they lock that money up, and there’s always going to be teams out there willing to take on superstars. And rightfully so.”

NBA player movement has always been dramatic. It’s threatening to get wacky.