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After missing the playoffs the year after going all the way to the Western Conference finals, there’s uncertainty surrounding Luka Doncic‘s future with the Dallas Mavericks. However, because Doncic is eligible for a lucrative $215 million contract extension, a trade does not appear likely in the near future.
A Western Conference executive explained to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney why a trade isn’t likely while also using former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons as an example of the only way Doncic could force a trade.
“The Mavericks are not going there, and everyone knows it,” the exec told Deveney. “There is just no way. The only way he can force a trade is to sit out like Ben Simmons did, and anyone who knows anything about Luka knows he is not going to do that. There’s just no way.”
As many know, Simmons sat out throughout the last season he was with the Sixers – 2021-22 – until he was traded, among others, to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden.
Even though the exec does not believe Doncic will ask, he says the clock is ticking on the Mavericks.
“(The Mavericks) have a few more years and they gotta get their s*** together,” the exec said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Proposed Trade Swaps Tyrese Maxey For Luka Doncic
In light of the Mavericks’ struggles this season, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports ranked the likelihood of all other 29 teams getting their hands on Doncic and separating teams into tiers with the higher number being the least likely.
The Sixers were in Quinn’s sixth tier, which was labeled,“Lack either the assets or the star power,” and were ranked no. 22 overall. Quinn previewed what a potential trade would look like between the Sixers and Mavericks.
“The 76ers could at least offer Tyrese Maxey to Dallas, but that really only gets them past the first three teams in this tier,” Quinn said, referring to the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers, all of which were ranked below the Sixers.
Quinn added that the Sixers’ lack of assets would hurt their chances of getting Doncic.
“The 76ers have spent most of their picks. James Harden will either be on an enormous contract or the Houston Rockets by the time these negotiations come to pass. They just don’t have enough to pair Doncic with Joel Embiid.”
Kevin Garnett Sends Strong Message to Ben Simmons
In light of the news that Simmons season-ending injury, NBA Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett sent a message to Simmons urging him to re-discover his love for basketball.
“Ben Simmons, man, if you’re listening, I want you to go back and find your roots. Go back and find why you love playing the game. You got a lot to give to the game, bro,” Garnett said on the April 2 episode of his “Ticket & the Truth” show. “If your heart ain’t in it, it is what it is. I hate to say that. I think he got another run in him, but it’s going to have to be Ben Simmons, bro. It’s going to have to be him.”
Garnett also added how much he believes in Simmons’ potential as a player, but he has to show it on the court.
“I wanna see the dude get back to killing, man. We ain’t even see Ben Simmons with the [jumper]! We ain’t see if Ben Simmons two dribble, pull up, left for high, off the glass, like, he got [another] whole f****** level. It hurt me to see them shut him down, but he gotta come back and he gotta give us something.”
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