Mavs fear Luka Doncic may request trade unless they build contender

Exactly two months ago, the Dallas Mavericks were the fourthseed in the Western Conference and all eyes were on them aftertheir blockbuster acquisition of Kyrie Irving.

The Mavericks thought they'd found the perfect co-star for LukaDoncic, someone who could help them make another deep playoff runafter advancing to the Western Conference Finals the yearbefore.

However, on Friday night, the Mavericks were officiallyeliminated from the postseason after opting to sit Irving,Christian Wood, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleberagainst the Chicago Bulls, and resting Doncic after the firstquarter.

Dallas prioritized their draft pick over potentially making theplay-in, as they owe their first-round pick to the New York Knicks(as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade) but it's top-10protected, and losing to the Bulls gave Dallas the 10th-bestlottery odds in the league.

While much of the conversation about the Mavericks’ uncertainfuture has centered around Irving’s upcoming free agency andwhether Jason Kidd will return as head coach, ESPN’s Tim MacMahonreports that sources within theMavericks fear that "Doncic, who publicly and privately expressedextreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a tradeas soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn’t make significantprogress by then.”

MacMahon adds that “there’s a strongsense of urgency within the organization to expedite the processbefore Doncic loses faith in the Mavs’ ability to build a contenderaround him.”

While the Mavs have Doncic on a five-year, $215 million supermaxcontract, he could still request a trade in the near future if he'sunhappy. There’s no question that Doncic was frustrated throughoutthis season.

"I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic saidfollowing a disappointing loss to the shorthanded Charlotte Hornetslast month. "Sometimes, I don't feel it's me. I'm just being outthere. I used to have really fun, smiling on the court, but it'sjust been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not justbasketball."