Luka Doncic Trade from Mavs to Magic Proposal in Orlando Newspaper - 'Realistic'?!

Along with the Mavs on-court failure, speculation is oozing that Dallas might have to eventually trade the "unhappy'' All-Star Luka Doncic. ... and here come the NBA vultures.

DALLAS - The headline in the Orlando Sentinel is an eyeball-grabber, for certain.

"At least we can realistically talk about (the Orlando) Magic luring Luka Doncic,'' it reads.

Wait. 

We can?

"At least the Magic — with their own young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, tons of draft capital and a respected coach in Jamahl Mosley whom Doncic absolutely loves — are a player in a potential blockbuster trade or a possible destination spot for big-time free agents,"  the respected Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wrote.

That would bring a whole new meaning to "Luka Magic!'' But ... Let's slow down here.

Bianchi's points about the Magic largely ring true. Orlando has developing talent, draft capital and Luka is fond of Mosley, the former Mavs assistant.

And so a celebration of Orlando climbing its way out of the gutter is understood.

Meanwhile, yeah, the Dallas Mavericks are now down there in that same gutter, a Western Conference Finals team a year ago having bungled its way out of this year's playoffs entirely.

And along with the failure, speculation is oozing that Dallas might have to eventually trade the "unhappy'' All-Star.

Doncic has denied being that unhappy, saying, "I'm happy here. There's nothing to worry (about)."

Luka Doncic was asked about the Dallas Mavericks feeling they need to "earn" his loyalty to avoid him being the next superstar to ask for a trade.

"I saw the report. I don't know who, somebody said that I was going to request a trade. It was funny because I didn't know that was… pic.twitter.com/SNwrtnL8eJ

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) April 9, 2023

But that doesn't mean the story of Mavs front-office "fear'' regarding Luka's devotion to Dallas is invalid. (Hint: It's not invalid.)

Nevertheless, how can any MFFL blame the Magic (and others) for wishing to vulture in and pick at Dallas carcass? 

"Any trade for Doncic would likely include Wagner or Banchero, and according to Luka's MVP-caliber value ought to include both and more," Matthew Legros writes for The Magic Insider.

This is the sort of thought that falls short of the Sentinel's view of a "realistic'' trade, but it's also the sort of thought that must be filed away. The Mavs have made no secret of their mad scramble (which included the Kyrie Irving trade) to retain Doncic's faith; Mavs owner Mark Cuban has talked openly about the franchise needing to "earn'' that. And ultimately, the "fear'' would be that someday Luka forces an exit to a powerhouse, not the still-building Magic.

So we "file it away'' as a reminder: No, Luka is not asking out. No, Orlando is not getting him. No, the Mavs are not permanently stuck in the gutter.

But speculation that Dallas is in the process of botching its relationship with the player destined to be (forgive us, Dirk) the greatest player in franchise history?

That's real enough ... because Doncic and the Mavs have brought that speculation onto themselves.

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