Rumors: Former Mavericks rival lining up to make potential play for Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks have concerningly plummeted in the standings ever since Luka Doncic suffered a left calf strain on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was the most visibly frustrated Doncic has been after an injury, and it was clear almost right away that he was going to miss significant time.

Since Doncic went down, Dallas has gone 5-12, and they have fallen all the way down to the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. This is a massive change from the state of the team from before Doncic got injured, as they were the No. 4 seed in the West and he was playing some of his best basketball of the year.

Doncic was finally getting into a groove after battling a few other injuries earlier in the season, and Dallas is having to find a way to win without him until he returns. Winning without Doncic has been a struggle for the Mavericks over the years due to his sheer importance to the team, and it's something that fans don't want to have to go through until he retires.

Mavericks fans would love for Doncic to be in Dallas for his entire career, but if he does decide to enter free agency after next season (if he were to opt out of his player option), he would be one of the most prolific free agents of all time, and tons of teams around the league would be trying to do whatever it takes to sign him.

Heat could try to steal Doncic from Mavericks after next season

One of those teams could end up being the Miami Heat according to a recent rumor pertaining to their planning when it comes to contracts and the types of players that they aren't looking for in trades.

According to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang, a source relayed to them that the Heat have been avoiding taking on non All-Star players whose contracts don't expire before the 2025-26 season, as they are poised to have $80 million in cap space in the summer of 2026 when "several All-Stars, including Luka Doncic, are eligible to become free agents that summer."

Jackson and Chiang didn't implicitly state that the Heat are gearing up to make a run at Doncic, but they did make it clear that Miami is being extremely strategic when it comes to their planning around the next year and a half. They want to be in the best spot possible to land some big fish free agents that summer and Doncic is going to be the biggest fish of all if he doesn't sign a contract extension with the Mavs this summer.

Doncic is eligible for a five-year, $346 million deal this summer after making an All-NBA Team last season, and getting this deal done this summer will likely be Nico Harrisson and company's biggest priority. He has been the face of the franchise ever since he was drafted (alongside Dirk Nowitzki for one season), and not signing him to an extension would allow for him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he were to opt out of his deal.

While no signs are pointing to Doncic not being interested in signing an extension, this would be a nightmare for the Mavericks if he didn't sign an extension this offseason with the mindset of wanting to become an unrestricted free agent and opting out of his deal with Dallas after next season. The possibility of that happening seems to be slim to none considering the unprecedented amount of money that Doncic can make in Dallas if he signs this extension combined with the fact that they have built a deep roster around him, and time will tell what Doncic decides to do when it comes to his future.

If he doesn't sign an extension with Dallas this summer and decides to opt out of his contract after next season, it would be absolutely haywire around the NBA. Teams would be doing whatever they can to try to lure him to sign with them, and one of those teams might end up being the Heat, considering the way they are handling trade negotiations this season. Doncic heading to Miami would be unbearable for Mavericks fans, bearing in mind the heated rivalry that these two teams formed through two NBA Finals matchups in 2006 and 2011, but Harrison will likely do whatever he can to make sure that he signs the $346 million extension this summer.

Any team in the NBA would love to add Doncic right before he enters his prime, and he has a massive decision to make this summer that will heavily alter the NBA landscape depending on what he decides to do.