Jazz keeping “very interested eye” on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks situation.
By John Canady
The Utah Jazz have been very active in the trade market since Danny Ainge was hired as the team’s CEO of Basketball Operations and Co-Governor of the team. Following the team’s transactions over the past year, the team enters the offseason with plenty of flexibility.
In return, the Jazz now find themselves in a position to keep an eye on the landscape across the league.
With the assets and cap space to pull the trigger on a blockbuster trade if the opportunity arises, Ainge and company are reportedly monitoring the situation in Dallas.
Jazz keeping “very interested eye” on Luka Doncic’s situation with the Mavericks
Despite the Dallas Mavericks appearance in the Western Conference Finals last year, the team showed obvious regression in 2022–23, missing the playoffs. Even throughout the team’s trade to acquire star guard Kyrie Irving, Dallas still struggled to find its winning ways. The Mavs finished 8-12 with Irving on the court as a Maverick, leading to the team missing the postseason.
There’s no secret that the friction between Luka Doncic and the Mavericks has intensified in the last couple of years. With the Mavs lack of surrounding the star with a supporting cast, rumors have circulated that Doncic’ has seemingly grown frustrated with the organization. But a talent like that will draw eyes across the league, especially if the relationship between them and their respective organizations seems fractured.
The Slovenian product has been an absolute star since entering the league in 2018. For many years, Doncic single-handedly kept the Mavericks afloat. The versatile talent has averaged over 20 points per game in each of his five seasons, including a career-high 32.4 points per game this past year. In addition to his insane ability to put the ball through the hoop, Doncic is an elite playmaker with the ball in his hands. The 24-year-old averaged 8.0 assists in 66 games this season as well as 8.6 rebounds.
It comes as no surprise that if Doncic were to be made available, the Jazz would be interested; arguably every team in the league would be. But the Jazz would be in a unique position to land the star if he does indeed request to come out of Dallas. With Ainge controlling the reigns for Utah, along with the team’s future draft capital and young talent, the Jazz could be in a prime position to make a strong offer.
As everyone around the league awaits to see how the Doncic situation unfolds, the Jazz may be at the top of the list to attempt to steal the star from Mark Cuban and the Mavericks.