Luka Dončić was reportedly a driving force behind the Dallas Mavericks’ Feb. 6 acquisition of Kyrie Irving in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst, Dončić was privately “pushing the front office” to bring in a second All-Star-level player to help the Mavs try to win a championship because he had “grown frustrated” with the team’s performance this season.
It’s not a surprise that Dončić wanted something to change before the trade deadline.
MacMahon reported Jan. 18 that the 24-year-old “has strongly indicated he wants the Mavs to upgrade” their roster.
Dallas has spent most of this season over .500, but it has not risen more than six games above the break-even mark.
Dončić’s frustration was reportedly caused in part by how well he was playing. He has spent the 2022-23 campaign in the MVP discussion and is averaging an NBA-high 33.4 points with 8.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game in 54 starts.
It probably didn’t help matters that Jalen Brunson, who left Dallas in free agency last summer to sign with the New York Knicks, took his game to another level. He’s averaging 23.9 points with 41.1 percent three-point shooting and 6.2 assists per game.
MacMahon reported in April that the Mavs opted not to offer Brunson a four-year, $55.5 million extension before the start of last season and again at midseason, noting they kept open the possibility of trading him for a star-level player.
According to MacMahon, Dallas finally made the offer to Brunson after last year’s trade deadline.
Jalen’s father, Rick Brunson, told MacMahon he would have advised his son to take the money if the offer came in January.
“I told him once the season is started, that’s it,” Rick said. “I told the Mavericks, ‘Once the season is started, there’s no contract talk,’ and I went back against my word. In January, I thought he did enough where he deserved [the extension]. I said, ‘Hey, take the money, man.’ He wants security. He wants to live here. And they declined.”
The acquisition of Irving made the Mavericks more formidable but came with significant risks. He’s set to become a free agent this offseason and was suspended by Brooklyn in November for sharing an antisemitic film on social media and then refusing to apologize or denounce antisemitism.
Dallas only had the opportunity to get Irving because he requested a trade from the Nets after they refused to meet his terms on a contract extension.
LeBron James hasn’t been shy about saying how much he wanted the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for his former teammate. The Lakers will also have the flexibility this summer to open up enough cap space to sign Irving.
No matter where Irving plays, though, there’s always the risk he will do something that causes unrest or damages the team. He has a track record of such behavior everywhere he’s played.
If Irving leaves the Mavs in free agency, Dončić’s long-term status with the franchise will become a hot topic of conversation because they traded some of their best players to bring in a volatile superstar in a contract year.
The Mavericks have lost four of six games with Irving and Dončić playing together. They are sixth in the Western Conference with a 33-31 record.
Source: bleacherreport.com
