The Dallas Mavericks went to great lengths to try and compete for an NBA championship this season. They gave up a lot for a rental of Kyrie Irving, even though he could walk away at the end of the year.
The Mavs' postseason hopes plummeted as soon as Irving arrived in Texas. It wasn't his fault, as he balled out and put up big numbers, but the fit wasn't good, and their defense took a massive hit.
So, now that the Mavs didn't even try to get a spot in the Play-in Tournament and might have given up all that for nothing, the word around the league is that they fear they could also lose Doncic down the stretch.
Mavs Fear Luka Doncic Will Request A Trade
(Transcript via Tim McMahon — ESPN)
"There's a strong sense of urgency within the organization to expedite the process before Doncic loses faith in the Mavs' ability to build a contender around him. He's wrapping up the first season of a five-year, $215 million supermax contract with a player option for the final season.
Team sources have acknowledged to ESPN that fear exists that Doncic, who publicly and privately expressed extreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn't make significant progress by then.
'He'd like to be here the whole time,' Cuban said this week when asked about Doncic's long-term optimism. 'But we've got to earn that.'"
Doncic is a generational talent and the kind of player no franchise could afford to lose. So, Mark Cuban better works his magic to try and straigthen the ship in Dallas, as the clock is ticking on this team, and Doncic has made it quite clear that he won't tolerate losing for much longer.
