The Big Lead

Mavericks thought Luka Doncic's 'body would break,' $345 million supermax deal was never on table

By Aikansh Chaudhary

Jan 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts from the team bench during the second half of the game against the Denver Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jan 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts from the team bench during the second half of the game against the Denver Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Mavericks made headlines around the NBA Trade Deadline for giving the green light to arguably the worst trade in league history when they parted ways with their 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis.

At the time, Doncic was recovering from a mild calf strain that had kept him on the sidelines since NBA Christmas Day.

RELATED: Former Mavericks governor Mark Cuban discusses Luka Doncic trade to Lakers

Since then, many theories have been proposed for the true reason behind the Mavs' decision. One rumor is that the Mavericks made the move to avoid giving Doncic the $345 million supermax contract extension in the summer.

According to a recent report by The Athletic, the suspicions have turned out to be partly true as general manager Nico Harrison had no intentions of offering Doncic the deal.

"Nonetheless, concern built, including with Harrison, that Doncic’s body would break down possibly sooner than anyone would suspect. It eventually reached a point where Harrison felt he had to move on from someone who could still one day be a league MVP," The Athletic reported. "... But there was one twist: The Mavericks were never going to offer Doncic that mega deal."

Now, that's surprising for a plethora of reasons. For starters, Doncic is one of the only few players in the current NBA who deserves the humongous $340 million-plus contract.

RELATED: Utah Jazz GM agrees with Rob Pelinka's subtle Luka Doncic mock directed at Mavericks GM

On the other hand, even if the Mavs were worried about Doncic's health, the Slovenian superstar had proven his commitment to the franchise over the last seven years or so.

Despite the Mavericks' suspicions about Doncic's body breaking down, he had never played less than 60 games for the team during his stint. The 2024-25 NBA season would be the first time Doncic will play fewer than 60 games and that's because he took his time to heal his lingering injuries.

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