The Dallas Mavericks have blown up around 22-year old superstar Luka Doncic. Surely, the Los Angeles Lakers noticed.
In the three days since The Athletic dropped a bombshell report detailing Doncic's rift with members of the Mavs organization — which was angrily refuted by owner Mark Cuban, only to be validated — Dallas fired longtime GM Donnie Nelson, then saw veteran head coach Rick Carlisle step down on Thursday.
Luka Doncic, from Slovenia with his national team, on Donnie Nelson's Mavericks exit:
"It was kind of tough to me. I really like Donnie. I know him since I was a kid and he was the one that drafted me. It was tough for me seeing that, but I'm not the one making decisions there."
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 17, 2021
According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, gambler-turned-Mavs Shadow GM, Haralabos Voulgaris — the central instigator of The Athletic's reportage — is supposedly out, too.
The wild Infrastructure Week in Dallas has, naturally, led to speculation about Luka's future.
After earning All-NBA First Team honors in 2020-21, Doncic is eligible for a five-year, $201 million supermax extension. Despite the Nelson news, reporting of internal concern over his happiness, and his agent's shaky history with the franchise, Doncic is expected to sign the deal.
In his exit interview the day after the Mavs' Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, Doncic was asked whether he'll sign the extension:
“I think you know the answer,” he said with a smile.
Cuban will revamp the front office and coaching staff around Luka's preferences (what to do with Kristaps Porzingis, who doesn't get along with Luka, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, presents another issue). Cuban took pride in keeping Dirk Nowitzki around for 21 seasons and certainly has the same goal with Doncic. In fact, on Friday morning, Cuban began his clean-up efforts by hiring Dirk, who has a close relationship with Luka, as a special advisor.
The recent chaos hasn't stopped Lakers Twitter, naturally, from envisioning Doncic in L.A.
https://t.co/My4SNqYpde pic.twitter.com/k3xYgKk3ZM
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) June 17, 2021
How Luka walking into the Lakers facility in 2022 pic.twitter.com/NamwZfQuGR
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 14, 2021
L.A. Luka may be a comical pipedream today, but it isn't laughable to ponder.
The moment Luka puts pen to paper, the clock is ticking on Dallas. You can bet the Lakers brass will be closely monitoring the situation.
As the Lakers benefited from with AD and the New Orleans Pelicans are experiencing again with Zion Williamson, young superstars are more empowered than ever to quickly flex their leverage. To the behest of fans and employees of 29 franchises, agents and family members are historically allured by the purple-and-gold.
#Lakers How Luka and Zion’s families be looking at Rob Pelinka pic.twitter.com/dwA2qXPxug
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) June 17, 2021
If Cuban can't field a contender around Luka in the next two years, Doncic could ramp up the pressure for a change of scenery. Here's when the Lakers can pounce.
By then, LeBron James will be off the books and nearly 39. Long before that, though, Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka will be searching for the next star to keep the championship window open.
“We’re going to work hard to try to keep the pieces around LeBron and AD, build pieces around LeBron and AD to do that,” Pelinka said on The Woj Pod. “But also, with the future, again, if you study our cap (space) we have the flexibility to say, ‘Can we add another really, really talented young player to run it out with AD if he chooses to stay as a free agent for five, six, seven, eight years?’”
The challenge, as always, will be obtaining the requisite trade assets to pull off a Luka Doncic deal. Cuban will drive a hard bargain — especially with the Lakers — even if he fails miserably to build a contender over the next two years and faces increasing heat from Luka's camp.
Maybe Talen Horton-Tucker will blossom into an All-Star caliber player, and whomever L.A. selects at No. 22 in the upcoming draft will prove to be a valuable young piece. Perhaps Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso continue to round out their games. The Lakers will also enjoy a partial replenishment of tradable first-round picks by the summer of 2023.
Only AD and Kuzma are currently under contract for 2023-24, and the prospect of that financial flexibility could enable L.A. to add valuable parts to trade and/or absorb money in any blockbuster.
James was unsuccessful in his attempt to bring Luka into his Nike orbit, but maybe he can help facilitate a move to the Lakers. Maybe this is all utterly absurd.
Fortunately, Magic Johnson has already been working on it.
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