With the Dallas Mavericks regressing in a major way this season, there’s been much talk about Luka Doncic’s future.
One recent report stated that the Mavericks fear the Slovenian superstar could request a trade as soon as next summer if the team doesn’t make significant progress by then.
It seems like that has caught the attention of at least one team across the league. The Utah Jazz are apparently keeping a “very interested” eye on the four-time All-Star’s situation.
“With my spies telling me that Utah in particular is keeping a very interested eye on Dončić’s situation, even the [Brooklyn] Nets’ kitchen-sink offer for Dončić — the four firsts from Phoenix and one from Philly, plus whatever matching salary not named [Mikal] Bridges is needed to make the deal work — likely falls massively short,” wrote The Athletic’s John Hollinger.
The Jazz surprised many people in the 2022-23 regular season, going 37-45. They even held a postseason spot for a decent amount of the campaign, but they ended up faltering toward the end.
Utah’s core is headlined by All-Star big man Lauri Markkanen, who was named this season’s Most Improved Player, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji, among others.
By trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last offseason in separate deals, the Jazz built up a war chest of first-round draft picks and pick swaps. The team could also have a decent amount of cap space this coming offseason, paving the way for a big splash in free agency or via trade.
The Jazz have assembled a massive package of assets — including 15 unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks through 2029 and a young core of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kesslier, Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji and $60M-plus in potential cap space.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
As for the Mavericks, it’ll be interesting to see what moves they make this offseason after failing to make it to the postseason in the 2022-23 campaign.
They made the Western Conference Finals last season and were expected to once again be solid contenders in the West, but things didn’t go their way.
The midseason blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving didn’t work out the way they hoped, and while he’s expected to test free agency, the team reportedly shouldn’t have any trouble re-signing him.
Big man Christian Wood is expected to be on his way out, and it seems like other changes are on the horizon for the franchise.
Dallas was recently linked to Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton, two very solid players who could help the team make it back to the playoffs.
For now, everything is just pure speculation, but it will be interesting to see any more rumors pop up about the Jazz’s supposed interest in Doncic.
