Did the Dallas Mavericks just shoot themselves in the foot with the Donnie Nelson firing? Well, that could be the case if Luka Doncic's reaction to the development turn out to be true.
According to Marc J. Spears in an appearance on The Jump, Doncic is upset about the Mavs' decision to part ways with Nelson since he has a good relationship with the GM. The NBA insider then claimed there are no extension talks happening between Dallas and the Slovenian playmaker, which put more doubts about his future with the team.
For what it's worth, Luka is said to be having a press conference on Thursday to address the recent turn of events.
“Donnie was fired, let’s just be real. He’s been there since 1988 [sic], and I’ve heard one guy that’s really upset about it is a guy you don’t want upset about it: Luka Doncic. They were really close,” Spears said, via The Spun.
“Doncic’s in Slovenia, working out with the Slovenian national team getting prepared for the Olympics, and he will have a statement tomorrow at a press conference. I’m not sure what he’s going to say, but apparently he’s going to make a statement about Donnie’s firing tomorrow. I’m also being told, in terms of the $200 million extension, how are talks going? People close to him are saying ‘What talks?’ There’s no talks right now.”
The Mavs announced Wednesday they have mutually agreed to part ways with Nelson, who had been with the team since 1998. The timing of the decision does not look good, however, since it came after recent reports of the team having a “shadow GM” who has a lot of influence in the front office.
With the firing and the recent “shadow GM” issue, it's not hard to assume there are problems behind the scenes contrary to what owner Mark Cuban said previously.
Luka Doncic is eligible for a massive extension that will get him more than $200 million. Sure enough, it's difficult to see him rejecting that kind of money, but it is not a good sign that there is chaos surrounding him early in his career.
Cuban and the Mavs are surely looking to fix things with Doncic knowing that he is the future of the franchise; nonetheless, if Spears is right, firing nelson might not be the best move.
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