The Dallas Mavericks were “never” going to offer Luka Doncic a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension this offseason, sources tell The Athletic. The conventional wisdom for years had been that the Mavericks would automatically offer it to Doncic and he would need to make a decision. But Doncic was clear both on the record in his introductory press conference with the Los Angeles Lakers’ and through various reporting that he intended to sign it.
Because the Mavericks were not prepared to offer Doncic that extension, this informed Nico Harrison’s decision-making as he stealthily pursued a trade with the Lakers.
“There are people who fit the culture and people who come in and add to the culture,” Harrison said in a news conference after the deal. “Those are two distinct things. I believe the people who are coming in are adding to the culture.”
Most other teams were surprised Doncic was available and were baffled by the decision reached by the Mavericks to trade a player of Doncic’s caliber despite the fact he wanted to remain with the franchise.
“The easiest thing for me is to do nothing,” Harrison said to reporters. “Everyone would praise me for doing nothing. We really believed in it. Time will tell if I’m right.”