Luka Doncic is the kind of superstar that every front office dreams to have the opportunity of drafting. The reason teams like the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, etc. have been tanking is to have the opportunity to draft a player like Doncic, an instantly generational star that changes the franchise fortunes instantly.
The Mavericks have already made the Western Conference Finals early into Luka’s career, with next season being the first year of his 5-year rookie extension. There is a clock on the Mavs to make a push for a title in this time or risk alienating Doncic in the long term.
Coming off a WCF appearance, the Mavs should have been able to effortlessly make the right additions to the roster. However, they ended up losing Luka’s co-star Jalen Brunson and have so far added Christian Wood and JaVale McGee. While Luka has expressed his love for Dallas and his desire to win a championship for the city, he also let the front office know through his latest interview that he expects more reinforcements to come to the squad.
https://twitter.com/MavsDJR/status/1546574597218246656
Luka has seen a lot of his favorite teammates come and go over the years. He had a strong bond with Dennis Smith Jr., who was traded for Kristaps Porzingis. He had great friendships with JJ Barea (retired), Jalen Brunson (left), and Boban Marjanovic (traded) on the squad as well.
If the Mavs are trying to build a lineup designed to optimize Luka’s game, the current Mavs lineup doesn’t look bad. They have switchable wings in Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock, shooting bigs in Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, and Christian Wood, rim-runners in JaVale McGee and Dwight Powell, and offensive microwaves in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jaden Hardy.
The Mavs have one final roster spot open and the pressure to make good use of that spot is going to be immense. The Mavericks can still make trades for other players but that depends on their commitment to spend into the luxury tax and give up future picks.
