Mavericks avoided 'tumultuous summer' with Luka Doncic, says GM

As the basketball world comes to terms with the Luka Doncic trade, there is new evidence that the Slovenian star and the Mavericks were likely headed for an ugly divorce.

With just a year and a half left on his contract, Doncic can test free agency in 2026, a possibility that scared the Mavericks.  

While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison said the franchise wasn't sure if Doncic wanted to put pen to paper on a five-year, $345M extension they could have offered him this summer. As such, they potentially averted a disastrous situation.

"There's some unique things about his contract that we had to pay attention to," Harrison said of Doncic. "There's other teams who were loading up, and he was going to make his own decisions at some point of whether he wants to be here or not... We had to take all that into consideration and I feel we got out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer."

When asked if Doncic or his representatives hinted at him leaving the Mavericks in 2026, Harrison said, "No, not at all. Nothing verbally that would lead me to believe that."

Harrison confirmed that offering Doncic a Supermax "wasn't a difficult decision" but more a case of being beholden to the All-Star guard.  

"Once you put that out there, they accept or don't. At that point, you're on the clock," Harrison said of extending Doncic. 

It's fascinating that Harrison used the word "tumultuous" while referring to a contract negotiation with Doncic this summer. According to multiple insiders, Doncic did not seek a trade and was caught off guard by the Mavericks' decision. One wonders if something transpired behind the scenes that led to the Mavs abruptly shipping off their franchise star. 

There's a lot more to this story, details of which Doncic or Harrison will hopefully divulge at some point in the future.