6 Dallas Mavericks players whose stock has surged this preseason

2. Luka Doncic

It may seem strange for a player's stock to rise without even playing in the preseason, but that is exactly what has happened when it comes to Luka Doncic. He has been out for all three preseason games so far with a calf contusion, and even with the new additions, Dallas' offense still majorly relies on Doncic.

Without Doncic or Kyrie Irving on the floor, the offense doesn't have much of a sense of direction, and so many of these new pieces' success relies on Doncic's shot creation. We saw this under a big microscope against the Clippers, as Klay Thompson struggled to create any separation and ended up shooting 0-9 from the field. Thompson will be just fine when sharing the floor with Doncic and or Irving, but even one of the greatest shooters of all time is negatively affected by Doncic's current absence.

Dereck Lively II's offensive game also hasn't been as impactful with Doncic out, as he and Doncic are one of the deadliest pick-and-roll duos in the league when fully healthy. Lively II has still caught some lobs from other players and shown growth as a low-post scorer, but he isn't the same pick-and-roll monster without Doncic.

Doncic is trending towards playing on opening night considering that he practiced fully on Wednesday, and the Mavs would hugely benefit from him staying healthy to begin the year to help get the new guys used to his playstyle.

Everyone knows that Doncic is important to what the Mavs do, and their early struggles without him are a direct reflection of that. His insane on-ball gravity is going to help get everyone open shots, and his stock will only continue to rise when it comes to his importance to Dallas.