Luka Doncic’s Off-Court Discipline Allegedly the Reason Why Nico Harrison Refused to Give the $350 Million Extension

However, NBA Insider Marc Stein revealed on Sunday that the organization’s general manager, Nico Harrison, didn’t want to sign Doncic due to his lack of discipline. Harrison doubled down on the narrative about the star’s lack of physical conditioning as the reason behind his decision to shift a different direction.

“It was largely Harrison, who has increasingly believed since the Mavericks’ one-sided loss to the Celtics in the NBA Finals, that Dončić,” Stein reported. “Would not improve his commitment to conditioning, his off-court dietary discipline. Would not improve as a leader or culture-setter. Would not improve his well-chronicled comportment issues with referees. Would not be able to stay healthy as he got older.

“And thus could not, after the Mavericks and Dončić grappled with these issues since Harrison arrived in June 2021, be given the five-year supermax deal worth nearly $350 million that he was expecting in July.”

Harrison also said the management wasn’t sure Doncic would sign the extension to stay with the franchise. Doncic has addressed it and said he didn’t indicate that he won’t sign the supermax contract.

Mavs owner took a shot at Luka Doncic in a recent interview

Mavericks owner, Patrick Dumont, made his first public comments since the trade happened. He assured fans they have no plans to move the team to a different location. Since they traded Luka Doncic, there have been rumors the team will relocate to Las Vegas, as the ownership has strong ties with the city.

He also talked about what he wants out of their players. Dumont spoke highly about working hard and even mentioned other NBA greats he believes are hard workers, and took a dig at Doncic.

“If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq — they worked really hard, everyday with a singular focus to win. And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work… You shouldn’t be apart of the Dallas Mavericks,” Dumont said.