Mavericks legend sparks hope of dream Luka Doncic return with bold prediction

Dallas Mavericks legend Derek Harper made a prediction last week that every Mavericks fan is going to love. In an episode of FanDuel TV's Run It Back, Harper predicted that Luka Doncic would retire as a Maverick one day, giving fans hope that one of the most beloved players in franchise history isn't gone for good.

"I think he’ll eventually retire a Maverick, is the way I feel about Luka and the Mavericks," Harper said. "They were connected completely."

This is a bold stance to take, considering Doncic seems to love playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and signed a contract extension with them last summer. The trade was also less than a year and a half ago, but Harper thinks No. 77 will wear Mavericks blue again.

Derek Harper thinks Luka Doncic is coming back to Dallas

Harper played for the Mavericks for 11.5 seasons and is now one of the five players whose jersey number is hanging in the rafters at the American Airlines Center. He is one of the most iconic players from Dallas' early days after being drafted in 1983, and this take definitely holds some weight.

Harper has worked for the organization for years as a color commentator for the television broadcast, and he has gotten to watch Luka's career as closely as anyone. He understands how much Doncic meant to the Mavericks and vice versa, and this is what gives Dallas hope to pull off the impossible one day and make him a Maverick again.

Doncic clearly still has a special place in his heart for the Mavericks, and it only makes sense for him to eventually return and team up with Cooper Flagg. Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd, two of the key figures from the trade that sent him to the Lakers, are gone, giving Dallas the perfect chance to win him over again.

"Project 2028" in Dallas has hope

Harper's prediction will have Mavericks fans believing that he could actually return at some point down the road, and this could happen as soon as next summer. Doncic has a player option on his contract after next season, and if he opts out, Dallas could look to pursue him. Many Mavericks fans have already coined Luka's potential return to the Mavericks in free agency as "Project 2028," and his return isn't as crazy as it sounds.

Many fans lost hope in a potential Luka reunion after he signed an extension with the Lakers, but Harper will have Mavs fans dreaming again with this take.

If this somehow comes true, fans across the world would flock back to the Mavericks in bunches. Many fans fell out of love with the team after Doncic was traded to Los Angeles, and while drafting Flagg brought some of these fans back, it certainly wasn't all of them.

Fans were heartbroken that Harrison decided to give up on Doncic less than a year after he took Dallas to their first NBA Finals since 2011, and things haven't been the same without him. There's still a Luka-sized hole in the hearts of many MFFLs, but if Harper's prediction comes true, the Mavericks would have the chance to be one of the best teams in the league again.

Doncic's playmaking, paired with Flagg's defense and ability as a secondary creator, would give Dallas one of the best duos they've ever had, and this is the type of move that would set the NBA on fire.

Even if Doncic doesn't return in 2028, as many Mavericks fans hope, he still could come back at some point after that. Harper truly believes that he'll be a Maverick one day, and if one of the best players in franchise history believes it's going to happen, fans have every reason to have hope, too.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow