3 Disastrous events Mavericks must avoid to keep Luka Doncic happy

The Dallas Mavericks' immediate future is practically hinged on Luka Doncic's desire to stay in Dallas over the coming years.

While there are no reports of Doncic exhibiting discontent with the Mavericks' organization thus far, things got rocky last season when Doncic looked dull and disinterested in post-game interviews after repeated tough losses.

The Mavericks cannot operate under the notion that Doncic will follow the paths of other European superstars who have stayed devoutly loyal to the first team that acquired them, such as the case with Dirk Nowitzki and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

3 Disastrous events Mavericks must avoid to keep Luka Doncic happy

In the modern NBA, anything can happen. As wild of a rollercoaster as the post-championship years have been in Dallas, there is no guarantee that Doncic will want to stick with the Mavericks amidst whatever disastrous events they may encounter in the coming years.

Dallas can do their best to keep Doncic happy at the end of the day, but who knows if some sort of disconnect ever catalyzes between him and the organization. Thus, the Mavericks must do everything they can to win around Doncic for the sake of their future.

If Dallas fails to keep Doncic happy in the future, it will likely be because of one of these three disastrous events occur that the Mavericks would have wished they had prevented.

3. The Mavericks have another management/coaching overhaul

Although the Mavericks quickly replaced Rick Carlisle and Donnie Nelson with Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison right after the end of the 2021 NBA season, Mark Cuban can be given a free pass because of how longstanding the continuity within the Mavericks' upper brass was.

However, if this were to happen again, there isn't a guarantee that Luka Doncic would be willing to go through another organizational shift, especially given that such drastic measures taken by Mark Cuban would likely be sparked by another failed season.

After a slew of free-agent additions this past summer, the Mavericks have put themselves in a position to be much better this summer. However, if last year didn't teach them anything, then they are assuredly in for a rude awakening if they take the vastly improved Western Conference for granted because of past playoff success.

The Mavericks should be a lot better on paper next year, but without having seen just how impactful the bolstered wing depth the Mavericks accrued this past off-season will be, the question of, 'How much will the lack of a starting-level rim protector hurt Dallas this year?', still looms very large.

If rookie Dereck Lively II doesn't plow through the expected rookie wall that most big men hit during their first year in the league, then Dallas will be hard-pressed for more rim protection beyond what they will get from Dwight Powell, Richaun Holmes, and Maxi Kleber.

If the Mavericks' lack of rim protection is such a hindrance that their defense completely collapses again or something unexpected happens, such as a season-ending injury to Doncic or Irving, the Mavericks could find themselves in the hot seat with Luka Doncic. Given either of those events would likely warrant a consideration towards a front office overhaul, Dallas should continue to shape their roster meticulously around Doncic and Irving.

2. The Mavericks mess up the Kyrie Irving situation

Kyrie Irving is an extremely special player on the court and showed no discontent toward Dallas after signing a three-year $126 million contract this past summer. However, one mustn't discount Irving's volatility in terms of staying with his incumbent team.

Irving can be seen promising Celtics' fans that he will likely re-sign before the start of the 2018-19 season in this clip below.

Based on what Irving has said to the media, it's the incumbent team's mistreatment of Irving in some form or fashion that has sparked his desire to ask out in the past, not Irving's greediness or desire to neglect team policy.

There's no denying Kyrie has put himself in some precarious positions with other organizations though, and that can be said objectively regardless of how good of a human or basketball player Kyrie is. With that being said, whether it's Kyrie who may experience future discontent in Dallas or the Mavericks simply don't want to put up with Irving's antics, some scenarios could present themselves that would involve Kyrie asking out before the end of his contract.

However unlikely Kyrie asking out is can be left to your own interpretation. But one thing is for certain, the Mavericks can't operate in the driver's seat in this situation. They will need to move in lockstep with Irving every step of the way if they want this pairing to work both on and off the court in Dallas.

If the Kyrie situation were to falter, who knows if the Mavericks would even be left with enough compensation coming back in a trade. Irving would be the third presumed co-star of Luka Doncic to leave Dallas since the 2021-2022 season, and Doncic certainly wouldn't be happy if the franchise screwed up the Kyrie situation with nothing to show for it.

1. There is a rift between Doncic and another member of the Mavericks organization

Out of the three disastrous events the Mavericks must avoid to keep Luka Doncic happy that we've listed, this situation is the most unlikely one to prevail.

That doesn't mean it is rooted completely out of thin air though. Back in 2021, reports surfaced that there was a "shadow GM" within the Mavericks' front office (subscription required). Reports also surfaced that this same individual had a fractured relationship with Luka Doncic.

Who was that team employee you may ask? It was none other than Haralabos Voulgaris, esteemed sports bettor and former Director of Quantitative Research and Development for the Mavs.

Per reports, Doncic grew to dislike Voulgaris enough to where the team made a point to actively remove Voulgaris from the same setting as Doncic. This came after an incident in February of 2021 where Voulgaris supposedly signaled Doncic to calm down in a game versus the Golden State Warriors.

Apparently, Doncic’s relationship with Voulgaris had been waning before then, and it’s very clear Voulgaris overextended himself beyond his mere title of ‘Director of Quantitative Research and Development' in multiple areas.

The Mavs will need to avoid bringing any individual into their organization that may collide with Doncic on a personal level, whether it’s a teammate, front office member, or even coach. Luckily, Dallas was able to mend the situation in 2021 by removing Voulgaris from the organization after the season, but things could’ve been worse.

Luka is a very fun and easygoing guy, but definitely not someone worth angering. Mark Cuban will need to read the room better when making any acquisitions, and Luka Doncic’s peace of mind will need to be at the forefront of his thought process when deciding on any new candidate.

I preface that it is extremely unlikely a scenario like this will happen again, but the Mavericks won’t get the benefit of the doubt that Luka would be content if this did occur again.