Mavericks news: Goran Dragic on friendship with Luka Doncic, Offseason to do, more

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was destined for greatness from a young age, but few know that his father played 17 years of professional basketball. Sash Doncic spent 12 years as a coach in Europe too, which allowed Luka to grow up in and around the game.

Doncic signed his first professional contract at 13 years old, but his friend and teammate Goran Dragic knew about Luka’s greatness from the beginning. The 36-year-old point guard talked about how he meant Luka on Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s podcast Thanalysis.

"I’m coming from Slovenia, such a small country. Only 2 million people. One of the craziest stories too, when I was 15 years old, I signed my first professional contract, and at that team, my mentor was Sasha Doncic, the father of Luka Doncic."

Dragic went on to talk about knowing Luka since he was a child and how awesome it was to play alongside him on the Slovenian National Team. Doncic was just a teenager when Slovenia won EuroBasket 2017 with both he and Dragic making the All-Tournament team.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo mentioned the rumors of Dragic teaming with Doncic in Dallas, and fans can hear the full episode here, including the All-Star guard talking about being mentored by Steve Nash and him being part of the vetoed Chris Paul trade back in 2011.

More Mavericks news

Former Mavs front office executive Brian Dameris detailed what the franchise has to do this offseason to get back on track.

A longtime teammate of Kyrie Irving also chimed in on what he thought the eight-time All-Star would do in free agency.

NBA news

The Raptors fired head coach Nick Nurse (subscription required) on Friday. There are already rumors about Nurse landing in Houston, and the Raptors targeting Ime Udoka.

Kawhi Leonard missed Game 3 of the Clippers versus Suns first-round playoff series with a knee injury as Phoenix took control behind a 45-point performance from Devin Booker. It was another massive injury to start the postseason.

Malcolm Brogdon won the Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday night. Mavericks forward and soon-to-be free agent Christian Wood earned one third place vote.

The Sixers took a 3-0 lead over the Nets on Thursday night, despite James Harden being ejected for a flagrant foul. Somehow Joel Embiid was not ejected for kicking Nicolas Claxton. Dallas native Tyrese Maxey led Philly with 25 points in the win.

The Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s suspension to get back into their series against the Kings. Stephen Curry had 36 points to lead the Dubs in a series that just got a lot more interesting.

The offseason rumors are just starting to heat, so get ready and stay tuned for all the latest.