As the sports world tried to puzzle together why on earth the Dallas Mavericks would seek to trade Luka Doncic, one line of thinking became popular: the Mavs must have been nervous Doncic would want to enter free agency following the end of his contract in 2026, rather than sign a supermax extension worth nearly $350 million. That reasoning seemed to be supported by GM Nico Harrison, who said on numerous occasions he was trying to get ahead of a possibly "tumultuous summer" where Dallas might've seen Doncic walk and gotten nothing in return.
However, while saying that, Harrison admitted there was nothing "verbally" communicated to the Mavericks that Doncic would turn down such a huge contract or had a desire to leave Dallas. The qualifier in that sentence left some room for interpretation. So Doncic was asked about it on Tuesday during his introductory press conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
When asked directly by Mavericks reporter Brad Townsend if he or any member of his inner circle had suggested to the Mavericks he wouldn't sign an extension, Doncic had a strong two word response: "Absolutely not."
. @townbrad: “There were talks that the Mavs were concerned you wouldn’t sign the super max extension. Did you or anyone on your team indicate that you wouldn’t sign it?”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 4, 2025
Luka Doncic: “Absolutely not. Easy answer.” pic.twitter.com/QBeQSmRnDe
In case his blunt quote wasn't clear enough, Doncic's body language should be. As soon as he heard the beginning of the question he was shaking his head.
It lines up. Very few players have ever turned down a supermax contract extension in the brief history of its existence and Doncic was set to sign the most valuable one yet; if he'd stayed in Dallas, the superstar would have been eligible for a $345 million deal, a full $30 million above the record-breaking contract signed by Jayson Tatum with the Boston Celtics last offseason. Even if he hated the Mavericks it's incredibly hard to believe there was even a slim possibility he would turn down that kind of money.
And as has become clear in the last few days, Doncic did not hate the Mavs. Far from it. It's now clear the franchise made the move because they didn't think Doncic was a championship player, not for any reason regarding his happiness or long-term future in Dallas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Doncic Had Blunt Two-Word Message on Extension With Mavs During Lakers Presser.
