Mavs news: Luka Doncic will attract other superstars to Dallas, per GM

Mavs GM Donnie Nelson discusses how Luka Doncic's emergence as a true superstar makes him an easy sell for potential recruits.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has established himself as one of the biggest brands in the NBA today. So much so, that even the Mavs themselves are banking on this notion as they look to recruit other stars to Dallas to join the highly-touted 22-year-old.

In a recent interview, Mavs general manager and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson was asked how Doncic compares to the great Dirk Nowitzki in terms of recruiting other players to Dallas. Nelson clearly holds Dirk in high regard, but at this point, he believes that Doncic is the much easier sell:

“Man, it’s completely different,” Nelson said, via Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com. “One guy is an open shot waiting to happen, and the other guy was a shot-taker and a shot-maker. I think, in terms of free agency, who doesn’t want to play with a Jason Kidd? Who doesn’t want to play with a Steve Nash? I think in terms of recruiting, it’s much better to have a ‘true quarterback’ that has the abilities that [Dončić] has.

“It’s ironic that two of the greats… when I saw Luka play for the first time, I’m like, ‘Man, that’s a 6-foot-7 Steve Nash that can shoot it and this and that and the other thing, but he rebounds like Jason Kidd.’ To have [a player who’s a combination of] two of the greats that were right here in Dallas, it’s going to make our recruiting efforts a lot smoother.”

It's hard to argue against Nelson's point here. Doncic has become a true superstar in the league and his style of play has emerged as somewhat of an attraction for potential recruits.

Those are also a trio of legendary names that Doncic has been mentioned in the same breath in. Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd are three all-time greats and bona fide Hall of Famers (Dirk is a shoo-in once he's eligible) so it's an absolute honor for Doncic to be considered in the same category as these three. Then again, with how things are going for Luka, it appears that he is indeed taking the same career trajectory as with the Nowitzkis, the Nashes, and the Kidds of the NBA.