Mavericks Were As Afraid Of Luka Doncic Signing Supermax As They Were Him Declining It

[RealGM Wiretap]

Luka Doncic was eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax extension with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason and sources tell ESPN that he anticipated signing it. Doncic also never gave any indication he would explore leaving the Mavericks, evidenced by his recent home purchase in the area.

But sources tell ESPN that some decision-makers with the Mavericks were as afraid of Doncic signing the supermax as they were of him not signing it, which contributed to their decision to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Nico Harrison had more doubts about Doncic than others in the organization such as Mark Cuban or Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Kidd also frequently expressed concerns publicly and directly with Doncic about his conditioning, weight fluctuations and constant arguing with officials.

Patrick Dumont saw the trade of Doncic as a business decision that would preserve the Mavericks' financial flexibility over the long-term and he also trusted Harrison on the return of Anthony Davis. 

Cuban declined to comment when reached by ESPN, saying it wasn't his team anymore.

"No way Mark would ever trade Luka," a team source said. "It wouldn't even be a conversation."

Via Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon/ESPN

[Vegeta10176]

Not allowed to speak to the player kind of a red flag right lol.. Well lakers threw any chance of winning away this year and it was possible.. They also traded away a 3&D wing on a good contract.. And made their other good contract Austin reeves redundant and probably wasted the rest of LeBron career. Now did mavs get ripped off here and by how much it just depends on what you think AD could be traded for and what Luka could be traded for... If AD fetches a player and 3 picks and luka 5 picks and 2 players well then they fell 2 picks short maybe as you have to include max and the 2031 pick as part of the trade overall meh..

[Laimbeer]

They're idiots. Look at what he does on the damn floor. You went to the finals last year (hope you enjoyed because you'll be a long time getting back). Twenty five, one of the three or so best players in the world. So he doesn't condition 100% and has had some injuries. Bottom line he is a franchise player who produces like one. You pay him and worry about the rest later. But instead you convince yourself he's falling off a cliff and sell him for dimes on the dollar for iron man Anthony Davis?

[hyberx]

Luka is about to be just 26. He is not known as a burger slob like Zion Williamson. Sure he might not be the best condition he could be, but Nikola Jokić has never been one either. You don't just trade your young franchise player who is already top 5 in the league and took you to the final just last year for an often injured 32 years old.