Getty Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
Putting a championship-caliber team around Luka Doncic should be the only goal for the Dallas Mavericks. They made a run to the Western Conference Finals last year, and at this season’s trade deadline, they made a big-time splash, trading for Kyrie Irving.
According to sources who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, there had been some growing frustrations with the roster inconsistencies in Dallas over the years, but Doncic has remained non-involved in most decisions despite the rotating cast of teammates around him.
“Luka has stayed out of the mix when it comes to weighing in on personnel stuff,” a Western Conference GM told Deveney. “That has been pretty consistent there. But there is some frustration building just because there has been a merry-go-round of guys going in there.”
For Doncic’s entire career, player after player has come to Dallas just to get traded in the end. Some have worked out better than others, but Doncic hasn’t been able to grow effectively with any of them.
“I mean, you can go back to Harrison Barnes, [Kristaps] Porzingis, [Spencer] Dinwiddie, they lose Jalen Brunson,” the source said. “It has been five years, and there is no consistency on the roster there.”
The addition of Irving could work out well, but right now, Doncic is just being forced to play with a new version of this roster.
And while Doncic will likely play fine next to Irving, the real question is, do the Mavericks have a long-term plan?
“He [Doncic] is a guy who can make it work with whoever, he can probably make it work with Kyrie,” said the West GM. “But it is a terrible defensive team, and they’re shuffling guys in and out, and there are no defensive role players. So, it’s not so much Kyrie that is the problem it is – do we have a plan here?”
Josh Green Urges Mavericks to Step Up
Right now, the Mavericks find themselves fully immersed in a playoff battle, but both Doncic and Irving are injured. After a recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Josh Green urged the team to step up in their absence.
“I mean, it’s a lot different,” Green said via the Mavericks’ official YouTube channel. “Two of the best players in the world not on the court, you definitely feel that. But it’s up to us. We shouldn’t have to rely on them. We should be coming out there and giving them energy and showing that we have their back and that, when they’re back out there, they can trust us and that we can do stuff. So, for us, it’s about, whether they play or whether they don’t play, at the end of the day, we have one thing in mind, and that’s to win the game. So, obviously, the game plan changes without having them, but whether they’re in there or whether they’re out, from a player standpoint, we’re looking at just winning. So, obviously, stuff changes, but we still have one outcome.”
Mavericks Receive Luka Doncic Injury Update
As for Doncic’s timetable for return, Shams Charania of The Athletic recently provided a crucial update.
“This is more short-term, he’s going to be day-to-day with this thigh injury,” Charania reported. “He’s out again, so he’s going to miss his second-straight game tonight. But I’m told that he could be back as soon as their next game… Right now, the Mavericks are hopeful that this is more of a day-to-day injury for Luka Doncic, not as severe as Kevin Durant’s.”