Being nearly six months removed from the Luka Doncic trade, the Dallas Mavericks have done a great job of repositioning themselves to be contenders next season if Kyrie Irving is able to be back and himself by a decent time next year. Dallas clearly benefited from the basketball gods by getting the No. 1 overall pick and the ability to select Cooper Flagg.
The Mavericks will certainly take such a blessing after the pure and utter scrutiny that had been coming their way from February 1 all the way to the night of the NBA Draft Lottery, but this doesn't mean the Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison will ever be relived of their organizational malpractice last trade deadline, as trading Doncic for a less than ideal return package will forever be coined as a generational blunder.
To make matters worse, Doncic seems locked in with the Los Angeles Lakers for the long term, as all signs are pointing toward him signing a contract extension with them after his EuroBasket duties wrap up with the Slovenian national team, as Doncic went as far as to recruit new Lakers guard Marcus Smart to join the team.
Luka Doncic is committed to the Lakers for the long term
Doncic made some subtle recruitments and requests when he was with the Mavericks, but he never went as far as to be the outright reason someone came to Dallas. It's clear this isn't the case in Los Angeles after he made a full-on recruitment pitch for Smart to come to the Lakers.
While part of this is Doncic simply taking the next step in his career in terms of leveraging his power and say as a superstar player, Doncic being willing to try and get others to join him in Los Angeles shows he's committed to winning with the Lakers and wants to be there long-term, as he's exhibiting the same level of loyalty to the Lakers that he did with the Mavericks.
Many Mavericks fans are holding onto a string of hope Doncic could somehow find his way back to Dallas in the near future, especially since he has yet to sign a contract extension with the Lakers, but fans can't be blindsided by the gleaming reality of this situation, as Doncic typically waited till after EuroBasket when discussing contract negotiations with the Mavericks in past years as well.
It's almost impossible that Doncic comes back to the Mavericks in the near future, and it's becoming overwhelmingly clear he is going to be the face of the Lakers in the immediate future and likely longer, as recruiting players to join one's team typically doesn't denote that the said player is wanting to leave anytime soon.
Doncic will likely sign a multi-year extension with the Lakers before the start of next season, though it won't be nearly as much as the supermax extension he'd of been due for in Dallas, as Harrison robbed Doncic of millions by trading him away. Doncic will likely sign a shorter extension in hopes of signing a more lucrative deal once the cap spikes again in a few years, though it's almost certain both of his next two deals will come with the Lakers unless something goes terribly wrong in LA over the next few years.
