Could Luka Dončić Demand Trade From Dallas Mavericks?

As recently as February 2023,

Dallas Mavericks

fans were beginning to worry whether

Luka Dončić

would grow impatient with the lack of help he received from the front office.

Dončić had just finished a run to the Western Conference Finals, where he was a one-man offensive show reminiscent of

LeBron James

‘ many Herculean playoff efforts.

He and his Mavericks were outclassed by the

Golden State Warriors

in five games after Dončić’s heroics weren’t enough to carry an overmatched postseason roster for the third straight year.

To make things worse, Dallas botched the

Jalen Brunson

contract situation, and the former Maverick became a superstar for the

New York Knicks

.

General Manager Nico Harrison addressed these concerns by trading for

Kyrie Irving

, whose first season as a Mav didn’t work out well, as the team missed the playoffs entirely.

Fortunately, Irving, Dončić and a tough group of Mavericks assembled by Harrison broke through to the NBA Finals in 2023-24.

Although it may seem like it, that finals birth is far from a guarantee that Dončić will stick around long-term in Dallas.

Despite Finals Appearance, Dallas Isn’t Close to a Title

Mavericks were outclassed by Boston and were fortunate to escape the West

The 2023-24 season was a great success for Dallas, and the team deserves credit for its stunning run to the NBA Finals.

They beat two excellent teams on their way there, and Dončić and Irving were spectacular to watch on the journey. Harrison did an incredible job building the roster around his two stars, filling in all the gaps with defensive-minded, quality role players who transformed the Mavericks’ previously soft identity overnight.

However, Dončić and company were utterly outclassed in their finals defeat at the hands of the

Boston Celtics

.

Boston was an all-time great team and was a poor matchup for the Mavericks, but they aren’t going anywhere soon, and the rest of the league is building to beat them.

The

Denver Nuggets

,

Oklahoma City Thunder

,

Minnesota Timberwolves

and

Memphis Grizzlies

are better suited to win the West and take down Boston this season.

Out East, the Knicks and

Philadelphia 76ers

took considerable strides to compete with the Celtics, and several other squads made significant improvements as well.

Dallas’ defense was picked apart for stretches by Boston, as their five-out, equal-opportunity offense had such great spacing and they mercilessly attacked Dončić in isolation. The superstar had one of the worst defensive series ever from an elite player, and the Celtics were able to easily use him as an entry point to get in the paint and break down Dallas’ defense.

Dončić desperately needs to improve on that end, but part of his struggles was because of his lack of energy left after carrying Dallas offensively.

Dončić needs to get in better shape, and he shoulders some responsibility for their loss, but he had to take on such a significant offensive burden that it is hard to blame him.

The Mavericks simply don’t have enough good players on either end to match a group like Boston.

Mavericks May Be Moving in the Wrong Direction

Klay Thompson solves one problem but exacerbates another

In their NBA Finals drubbing, Dallas learned that it needed to improve two aspects of the team to get to the level of a franchise such as Boston.

First, the Mavericks must get more reliable off-ball scorers than

Derrick Jones Jr.

and

P.J. Washington

after the Celtics left Dallas’ wings wide open for above-the-break threes, which they struggled mightily on.

*NBA Finals Stats

If Dončić and Irving can’t be confident in their secondary scoring options, opponents can load up the strong side of the floor to help and force those guys to beat them. We saw this throughout the finals, as the star duo had little space to work with, even when they were able to beat All-NBA defenders like

Derrick White

or

Jrue Holiday

off the dribble.

Second, the Mavericks must address the weakness of their defense at the point-of-attack with a backcourt consisting of a mediocre defender in Irving and an atrocious one in Dončić.

Having two exploitable on-ball defenders on the court at all times will never work against elite all-around offenses like the Celtics, who simply don’t have a liability.

Unfortunately, while adding

Klay Thompson

will be a massive help with the first issue of spacing and spot-up shooting, it will cause Dallas’ defense to decline even further.

Assuming Thompson takes the starting forward spot from the departed Jones Jr., the Mavs will now have three on-ball liabilities for opponents to attack.

Any team with four or five threats offensively will pick apart the Mavericks; this includes the Nuggets, Thunder, Knicks, 76ers and others.

Unhappy Stars Requesting Trades Is Now Common

If Dallas doesn’t give Dončic enough help, he may demand out

In today’s NBA, star players making it known they want to play elsewhere is accepted practice, and requesting a trade isn’t even out of the ordinary. Dončić is not just any star, either; he is a consensus top-three guy in basketball and arguably the best offensive player in the league.

His wishes will command respect from the Mavericks organization, especially after all he’s given them.

Dončić has three years left on his deal, with the third being a player option. Essentially, the Mavericks have two years left to convince him that his best chance to win a championship is in Dallas, but the pressure will begin building as early as this year.

If Harrison doesn’t improve the roster in a meaningful way and Dallas is stuck in the middle of a crowded Western Conference, the rumors will start to swirl.

We have seen plenty of regular stars demand to be traded and get their way, such as

Bradley Beal

,

Donovan Mitchell

,

James Harden

and many more. Superstars of Dončić’s level usually don’t have to do this, but

Kevin Durant

did just as recently as last year.

Furthermore,

Giannis Antetokounmpo

and

Joel Embiid

have made noise about wanting a new home before their front office placated them with star acquisitions. We also know that big names will leave their hometown teams in free agency as James and Durant did.

Organizations looking to move into a new era of contention will have their eye on this situation, including the post-LeBron

L.A. Lakers

, post-Dame Bucks and others.