The LA Clippers had no chance on drafting European sensation Luka Doncic during the 2018 NBA Draft. However, it seems the team and head coach Doc Rivers had their eyes on the teenager this past summer.
While just about every team from around the league at least did their homework in regards to Doncic, it appears as though the Clippers were quite serious about attempting to land the eventual Dallas Mavericks first-rounder.
“He was my man crush, I guess,” Rivers recently said, via Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News.
However, coming as absolutely no surprise, Doc Rivers and the Clippers were not the only ones that coveted Doncic's services ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft. The Mavs knew right from the jump that they would have to make a move in order to land the European superstar.
“At one point, we thought there might be a slight chance Doncic could fall to us, but a couple of days ago it was pretty clear that there was no way that was going to happen,” Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said last June, via USA TODAY. “He’s just too good. We get a guy we think is franchise foundation piece.”
Of course, Luka Doncic — the No. 3 overall pick from this past summer — was technically traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Mavs. Dallas sent no.5 pick Trae Young to Atlanta as part of the deal.
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