NBA Rumors: Never would the Mavericks offer Luka Doncic a $345 million contract
After seeing the Slovenian superstar play for the Los Angeles Lakers a couple times, the Luka Doncic deal is still breathtaking weeks after the news was made public. The reasons for the Mavericks' shocking decision are more clearer every day.
Doncic's conditioning and the Mavericks' refusal to offer him a supermax contract were two major roadblocks that resulted in the trade being done this season. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison managed the trade negotiations.
Naturally, it is shocking that Harrison declined to offer a player of Doncic's caliber a supermax contract, but Harrison was adamant about those talks.
According to Christian Clark, Fred Katz, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Doncic would have been able to make a total of $345 million on his next contract in Dallas, but that was never going to happen.
According to league sources, the Mavericks would never have offered Dončić that huge contract, the three wrote. As Harrison did with Dončić, Pelinka, and Davis, it was no coincidence that a general manager would choose to move one star, negotiate with just one general manager he knows and trusts, and target only one player he has dealt with in the past and whose character he can attest to.
Doncic is no longer qualified for such enormous extension.
If he decides to sign a four-year contract with Los Angeles, he will instead have to accept a settlement that is more than $100 million less. In an effort to get a supermax contract sooner, Doncic might possibly sign a lesser extension this offseason.
The former Lakers star was hurt in his first game with Dallas and hasn't played since, so the Anthony Davis experiment in Dallas didn't start off well. The Mavericks will need to enter the playoffs with a reduced roster because Davis is anticipated to lose a significant amount of time. Max Christie, on the other hand, seems like a fantastic addition and has already demonstrated some of his two-way skills along with some shot invention.
It seems extremely doubtful that Davis and Christie will produce at the same level that Doncic has the opportunity to in Los Angeles, even if they do well in Dallas. Harrison and the rest of the front office will have failed in their endeavor if the Mavericks do not win a title in the upcoming years.
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