Confirming previous reports, Luka Doncic said he never went t0 Mavericks management and told them he wouldn’t sign a five-year, $345MM supermax extension prior to being dealt to the Lakers, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
“Absolutely not,” Doncic said.
Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy, indicated he expected to discuss the supermax with Dallas’ brass.
“We were going to talk at the end of the season,” Duffy said, per another Townsend tweet.
Doncic is no longer eligible for the supermax since he was dealt.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Anthony Davis admits he was caught off-guard by the blockbuster trade that landed him in Dallas. “I was shocked,” Davis said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “I had no idea. I had just sent the team a text about congratulations on the win against the Knicks, big win, and then looking forward to Tuesday’s game against the Clippers, as far as standing purposes. And then, found out like an hour later I was no longer with the team. I was in shock, obviously. Had no idea that it was happening. But, I mean, now I’m kind of over it, and just kind of getting ready to play with Dallas.” Davis had lobbied for the Lakers to acquire a center so he could spend more time at power forward. The Mavs have Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, which will allow Davis to play power forward regularly again. “Anytime that I’m out on the floor, I feel better. I haven’t played power forward in a long time with another big,” Davis said. “We saw some spurts in L.A. with Jaxson (Hayes), but to be back naturally at the 4, I’m excited to see how it goes.”
- Spurs wing Devin Vassell sees a new offensive dimension with the addition of De’Aaron Fox, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. He feels defenses will be confounded by the combination of Fox and Victor Wembanyama. “Who do you stop between those two?” Vassell said. “I think we’re going to play a lot faster and we’re going to be out in transition a lot. I think it’s just going to open up a lot with Fox being our point guard. Him and Wemby on the screen-and-roll? Then you have me and (Julian) Champagnie and certain shooters around. It’s going to be an exciting offense, and I think defensively we’re going to be able to get after people, too. I know Fox likes to pick up full court and kind of change the pace of the game. He’s going to help us on both ends.” Fox is listed as available for the Spurs’ game against Atlanta on Wednesday, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets.
- In a subscriber-only story, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal details GG Jackson‘s breakout game against San Antonio. The Grizzlies forward, playing in his eighth game since returning from foot surgery, scored 27 points in 28 minutes.
AD is a cool cat. He’ll fit in seamlessly.
For what it’s worth Luka looks pretty thick rn. Doesn’t excuse the trade but I was a little shocked seeing him get off the plane. Calf strains will no doubt limit your ability to stay in game shape but he’s every bit of that 270 that was reported.
So nico says Rob asked him ‘would you ever considering trading Luka’.
Yet Rob says Nico approached him lol. Again, go check under Nicos bed or in his walls. He’s definitely got $3 mil in cash hiding somewhere.