Within a larger feature about the career paths of 2018 lottery picks Luka Doncic and Trae Young, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon cites sources who say Doncic has “strongly indicated” that he wants the Mavericks to upgrade their roster ahead of the February 9 trade deadline.
However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban denies that’s the case.
“Tim MacMahon got it dead wrong. Luka has never suggested, asked, demanded or discussed changes to the roster,” Cuban said in a statement (Twitter links via MacMahon). “Luka and (president of basketball operations) Nico (Harrison) have a great relationship. They talk almost daily. Luka knows exactly what we have going on and is very supportive.”
Doncic has been carrying a significant load in Dallas this season. He has a career-high 38.2% usage rate and leads the NBA with 33.8 points per game.
Christian Wood has emerged as a consistent second scorer, and role players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr. are having solid seasons, but the team has missed last season’s second-leading scorer, Jalen Brunson, and could use more reinforcements to make a real run at a title.
Still, while reports in the past have indicated that the Mavs’ front office keeps Doncic apprised of potential roster moves, he hasn’t yet exhibited a strong desire to be involved in those decisions, as MacMahon notes. He also stated during the preseason that he didn’t believe Dallas needed another All-Star caliber player to be a contender, telling Malika Andrews that “we have a great team.”
Perhaps Doncic’s workload this season and the team’s up-and-down first half has prompted him to be proactive in conveying his desire for roster upgrades, but if Cuban is to be believed, the All-NBA guard isn’t pushing for changes.
Although Doncic has three more guaranteed years on his contract left after this one, the Mavs are likely still feeling a sense of urgency to build a strong roster around him, since we’ve seen star players request trades with multiple seasons left on their contracts in recent years. There’s no indication that Doncic has considered or will consider taking that route, but it will be a subplot to keep in mind if Dallas is unable to make another deep postseason run in the next year or two.
The Mavs are all Luka, all the time. I don’t see how they can win with the roster they have in place. They’d be good to go after Mo Wagner and start him at the five, give him 35 minutes a game. He’d be a nice compliment to Luka and is a high energy player, would bring a little pizazz to the Mavs, which they will greatly need because the Luka show will get tiring.
It’d take a surprising amount from the Magic to get it done. Orlando seems to really like him, though I’d love to see him in a Mavericks uniform.
Mo Wagner ? Imagine a luka , mo Wagner pick and roll defense come playoff time. Luka needs another scoring guard not another big man. Brunson was definitely a big loss for them. They need to find another player similar or better.
Mo Wagner is a five who can rebound, shoot the three and run the floor with Luka, and stay out of his way in a half court set, he’s the perfect fit.
Mavs have all their picks after this draft for making a big move so w&s … Nico got it all wrong with the Brunson RA so he can’t miss next move
Brunson left to play for his uncle leon rose team. If. leon rose never became the GM of the knicks. Brunson would have likely stayed with the mavs
Brunson left to play for his uncle leon rose team. If. leon rose never became the GM of the knicks. Brunson would have likely stayed with the mavs
Brunson could have been a Mavs if Nico signed him a contract extension before his FA … 1st dumb move from a rookie GM
Cuban, the loader, if he was normal he would have brought Luke help
I wouldn’t blame Luka even if he was doing so, with the way the front office has bungled some things and Cuban’s all talk no money position. At some point, you have to feel bad for him being surrounded by that lack of a supporting case due to incompetence.
That said, if the Mavs can extent/resign Wood—a big IF—Josh Green can take another step, and Hardy continues to improve things may not look as bad a year from now.
Cuban is insufferable I want that guy to go into a real shark tank, foreealz
As good as Luka is he is difficult to build around. He is so ball dominate that Player B would sacrifice a lot. With that said Siakam, Markkanen, Ayton might be good fits.
Apparently you haven’t seen Luka in Euro play
Rockets are not able to get 1 first round pick when trading Wood
How is Poeltl worth 2 first round picks?
Luka might not have asked for it but it’s what’s needed in Dallas for them to be a serious threat. As mentioned a hundred times I’d go for Myles Turner. Elite rim protection, floor spacing ability and has played in twin tower set ups previously so I think could work with both him and Wood in the line up together.
Honestly with how ball dominant dude is I am not surprised. Mavs need to build the same team that Houston had back when they were up 3-2 against the warriors. 1 superstar , 1 aging superstar , very solid role players and a DEEP bench. That is why losing Brunson was such a huge deal.
Mark Cuban has billions of dollars and his team has gone up in value since he bought it. Why not go all in for a guy like Lauri Markenan. I think he would fit well on this team. Or get Collin Sexton to help bring in a boost on offense
DAL’s issues aren’t about Cuban being stingy. DAL is 8th in payroll, and paying luxury tax. The teams ahead of them all are either more accomplished or have players that are.
IMO, the problem is DAL FO’s during his tenure. They’ve always been weird, operationally. Not sure how much it is a carry over from the original group he inherited, but at this point it doesn’t matter. Luka was on threshold of superstardom since his rookie year. Everyone (outside of the DAL FO) believed they (like any team) would move methodically to add complementary long term pieces prior to the end of his RSC. DAL never seemed to notice.
Donnie Nelson was responsible for Porzingis, Kleber, THJ, Finney-Smith, Bullock contracts, so yeah, they’re still feeling the previous FO’s blunders. The new FO just continues the trend. Nelson is at least partially responsible for the Brunson issue too.
In fairness, Nelson also drafted Doncic. Problem is other than 2018 he really didn’t seem to care much about the draft or scouting American amateur basketball, and didn’t have a long term (like more than a year) cap strategy.