Does Luka Doncic have to leave the Dallas Mavericks if he wants to find success?
A double-double consisting of 46 points and 14 assists meant little as Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were once again on the wrong end of another first-round NBA Playoff exit courtesy of the LA Clippers.
In Game 7, Doncic had it all in a star-studded individual display. In. the end, though, it wasn’t enough to get by the Clippers for the second-straight season.
It doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to see that a player of Doncic’s caliber is far beyond a mid-tier playoff team (on a good year), and that is why this conversation has been beaten half to death long before June 6.
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At the ripe age of 22, Luka has already been having his eventual legacy compared to that of Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. However, their careers will seemingly be anything but similar. Dirk was one of the greatest power forwards to ever play in the NBA, and it even took him years to bring his franchise just one title.
The best player by his side when he did so was Jason Terry, a role player who half of the basketball’s current generation of fans have probably never even heard of. In other words, Dirk and the unfolding of his career was a rare specimen of basketball greatness.
On the other hand, there is Doncic – in his prime – who is still waiting to see what a conference semifinal looks like, and he has already been accompanied by better assistance than what Nowitzki had during his aforementioned victory.
To put it simply, they are not the same player, and that’s OK. It is not fair to pick and choose when to compare the two and subsequently tie Luka down to the lackluster organization like Dirk was. While the former is still young and booming, he needs to get the heck out of Dallas, because they are foreshadowing the inevitable realization that they will not be winning anything anytime soon.
Some insults may be hurled and some jerseys may be ignited, but athletes want to win, and Luka is no exception to the rule. Some places that should look enticing to him are Denver, Milwaukee, and maybe even Portland. But one message should be undeniably clear: the Dallas Mavericks are not the recipe for success right now, even for a prodigy.