Luka Doncic tried turning up the heat on the Dallas Mavericks front office with his recent comments on the need for more offseason moves to help build this team into a title contender. The Mavericks are going to go as far as Luka Doncic can take them. He has proven that he can take them up until the Western Conference Finals, but the team needs to do more to build a contending team around them.
The Mavericks have good pieces but are entirely reliant on Luka to be the talisman. While Jalen Brunson could step into that role, his departure and lack of replacement means Luka will have a heavier burden to shoulder.
Jason Kidd spoke at Summer League and discussed the importance of Luka on the team and how the Mavs need to build a championship team around their star. However, he added a qualifier to any instant expectations of roster moves by saying such a team can’t be built overnight.
Jason Kidd: “Luka is the start and finish for us. He did a great job for us all season and the big thing is for us to build on that. I know expectations are going to be high with Luka but again, we want to build a championship team and it just doesn’t happen overnight.”
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) July 12, 2022
The Mavericks have the right pieces to develop into a title contender right now. They have a mercurial number 1 option with solid role-players around him like Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Christian Wood, Maxi Kleber, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
The team has been saddled with various contracts that could be packaged together for a disgruntled star, but the Mavericks don’t have the pick equity they would like to have. The players on big contracts like Davis Bertans have very little value around the league, so making trades with those contracts are very challenging.
Hopefully, the Mavs can figure out how to put the right pieces around Luka, who will see his $205 million extension kick in this season. That contract puts the Mavs on a ticking clock to make the team a genuine contender with Doncic. Otherwise, they could see their star walk out on them like how Jalen Brunson just did.
