Luka Leaving? Mavs Admit ‘Fear’ of Disgruntled Doncic Trade Request - Report

The Dallas Mavericks will need to be urgent with how they handle roster construction to avoid Luka Doncic making a potential trade request.

DALLAS — After failing to qualify for the play-in tournament, the Dallas Mavericks face a pivotal offseason to get back on track as far as contending with Luka Doncic is concerned. Whether it's the right call or not, the team opted to sit key players to prioritize draft positioning before Friday's loss against the Chicago Bulls.

And now there is reported “fear” in the Mavs that Doncic might request a trade in summer 2024 “if Dallas doesn’t make significant progress” toward contention.

"It's not so much waving the white flag," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said after Friday's game. "Decisions sometimes are hard in this business, and you have to make hard decisions. We're trying to build a championship team, and sometimes you got to take a step back.

"Understanding with this decision, this is maybe a step back, but hopefully it leads to going forward."

The risk of making such decisions is clear as far as Doncic is concerned. As one of the NBA's top talents, who will be in his sixth season in 2023-24, the goal is compete at the highest level. When a team gets enough chances to do so and proves unable, the natural consequence tends to be a trade request.

"He'd like to be here the whole time," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said before Wednesday's game about Doncic's future. "But we've got to earn that."

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, who noted the aforementioned “fear,”there has been "extreme frustration" expressed from Doncic both publicly and privately. If things do not improve soon, there could be a trade request coming as soon as the summer of 2024. It would take "significant progress" to prevent such an outcome.

The top order of business for the Mavs will surely be to re-sign Doncic's new superstar teammate, Irving, who is set to reach free agency this summer. In the 20 games he played with the team, he averaged 27.0 points and 6.0 assists. However, the team as a whole needs reconfiguration as they went 7-7 when he played, and 1-5 when he was sidelined since the trade. 

"I don't see any risk at all," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said at Irving's introductory press conference in Dallas. "I actually see the risk in not doing it."

Irving had often made clear to reporters that it was premature to speculate regarding his future. That's fair. Just like before his trade request with the Brooklyn Nets, a lot gets determined by contract negotiations. The Mavs have been limited to a two-year, $86.2 million extension for Irving, which clearly isn't sufficient to reaching an agreement. After June 30, he can sign a deal spanning as long as five years for a value worth up to $272.9 million.

The Mavs have to also sort out Christian Wood's free agency as he will reach the open market this summer, too. After seeing a sharp reduction in playing time following the Feb. 9 trade deadline, it would be logical for Wood to explore his options on the open market. 

It remains to be seen what draft positioning the Mavs will have this summer. As of time of publishing this story, they have the 10th ranked odds for the No. 1 overall pick. If they finish outside of the top 10 after the lottery sorts out the order, they would lose their pick. On the other hand, they could move up higher than expected, which would create different possibilities. 

As far as trade avenues are concerned, the team would be limited to sending out a 2027 first-round pick in terms of packaging future picks if they keep their 2023 first-round pick. With a variety of players signed to what are likely perceived as negatively valued contracts, the margin for error will be thin. 

The Mavs are operating well over the salary cap and above the luxury tax threshold. They will have the taxpayer mid-level exception to use to add a player in free agency. Last season, they used it to sign JaVale McGee. A more successful outcome will be needed given McGee spent most of the season out of the rotation. Otherwise, it would add more negative spending obligations. 

Whatever the Mavs do this offseason, again, the margin for error increasingly shrinking. Earlier this season, Doncic voiced the absence of joy he tends to feel when playing basketball and his team is focused on ping pong balls as opposed to being in a position to compete for a championship. 

"I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic said in March. "Sometimes I don't feel it's me. I'm just being out there. I used to have really fun, smiling on the court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball."

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