Luka Doncic Won't Be Dallas Mavs 'Talent Recruiter'; Why Not?

Luka's position is ... unfortunate. After all, the Mavs live in an NBA world in which ...

DALLAS - We don't want to overload this report with any extra meaning. But the idea that Luka Doncic is disinterested in helping serve as a "recruiter'' for his Dallas Mavs is ... disappointing.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports on “The Hoop Collective” that the Mavericks star Doncic has shown no interest in recruiting other players to the team. MacMahon also notes that Doncic has opted to not have great input in organizational decision-making.

“They seek his input, but he’s not heavily involved in personnel decisions,” said MacMahon of Doncic's work alongside owner Mark Cuban, GM Nico Harrison, coach Jason Kidd and the rest of the organization. “He has not shown interest in being heavily involved. He spends much of his offseason in Europe. He’s not a guy who has shown the desire to be a recruiter.”

That is ... unfortunate. After all, the Mavs live in an NBA world in which ...

1) The Buddy System seems to prevail when it comes to player movement.

2) Dallas has struggled to lure superstar talent.

3) They are contenders as presently constructed (mostly because of the All-NBA presence of Luka) ... but come up short of talent in comparison to a handful of teams, including the eventual NBA champion Warriors, who ousted Dallas this year in the West Finals.

Luka's decision here doesn't doom Dallas to mediocrity, and it's not unprecedented around here, either; Dirk Nowitzki was famously disinterested in serving as a recruiter as well. But we will always wonder whether the Mavs could've lured more talent had Dirk stepped in.

And now we wonder about Luka ... Could he have rescued the ill-fated chase of his "big brother'' Goran Dragic? What happens if the pipe-dream-level idea of, say, LeBron James is ever realistic? Will Doncic not pitch in? What does it say about Doncic's long-term commitment to Dallas - albeit his "second home,'' as he calls it - if he's unwilling to invite others to join him in DFW?

We didn't have to worry or wonder about that last issue with Dirk. But now, on some level, we seem destined to wonder some about Luka Doncic.