Mavericks eyeing new All-Star partner for Luka Doncic?
May 15, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in game seven of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Luka Doncic is looking like Galactus The Devourer of Worlds right now, but even he will need to find himself a Silver Surfer before long. Fortunately, the Dallas Mavericks may have just the guy in mind.
On a recent episode of “The Lowe Post,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed that some in the Mavericks front office are keen on Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
“I just know that there are fans of him that hold prominent positions within the Mavericks,” said MacMahon of LaVine. “I think there’s enough fans of him where I wouldn’t totally rule [a Dallas trade for LaVine] out.”
The 27-year-old LaVine, a multi-time All-Star, has had a rough season for the 11th-place Bulls. He is averaging his worst numbers since the 2017-18 season (his post-ACL tear year) and now appears to want out of Chicago.
Alongside the MVP candidate Doncic, you are ideally looking for a dynamic secondary offensive creator who can spread out the floor plus defend the perimeter effectively. LaVine might not check off that last box. But with a 20-point-per-game career average on 38.4 percent from three, the high-flying guard certainly ticks off the other two.
A player of LaVine’s pedigree will obviously not be very easy to trade for, especially since he is not even halfway through the first year of a five-year, $215 million max deal. But the Mavericks can open up their treasure chest and offer youth (like Josh Green or Jaden Hardy), high-quality role players (like Christian Wood or Dorian Finney-Smith) and/or salary filler (like Tim Hardaway Jr. or Davis Bertans). It remains to be seen if that will be enticing enough to beat out some of the other offers that may be lurking for LaVine.
