Slovenian guard Luka Doncic inked a three-year, $161 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, making a long-term commitment to the Purple & Gold franchise. However, Doncic had previously expressed his desire to play his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks, a dream that abruptly ended when he was shipped off to Los Angeles by Nico Harrison.
Now that the Mavericks have parted ways with Harrison, will Doncic ever consider returning to Dallas? The 26-year-old addressed the possibility on Wednesday night.
“Right now, I’m just focused on the Lakers,” Doncic responded after the Lakers suffered a crushing 121-92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. “No further comments.”
Luka Doncic Will Always Love Dallas
The Lakers star was also asked to share his two cents on Mavericks ownership firing Harrison amid their 3-8 start to the season. Doncic had a rather classy response, as he explained why the city of Dallas will always have a special place in his heart.
“The city of Dallas, the fans, the players, they’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Doncic said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“I thought I was going to stay there forever, but I didn’t. So, that will always be a special place for me. I will always call it home. But right now, I’m focused on the Lakers and trying to move on. Obviously, always there will be a part of me there.
“But just trying to move on and focus on what I’m doing here.”
Battle of MVP Favorites
Wednesday’s contest featured a mini battle between the two MVP frontrunners, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+180) and Doncic (+320), with the Thunder star coming out on top. While SGA posted 30 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals, Doncic endured his worst game of the season, finishing with a season-low 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-20 from the floor.
In Doncic’s defense, the Thunder’s entire game plan revolved around stopping him, especially with Austin Reaves (13 points, 4-of-12 shooting) not rising to the occasion. After the loss, Doncic admitted that he was boxed in a corner by OKC’s elite defense.
“Definitely wasn’t our best game,” Doncic said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Probably one of the worst this season, but they did a great job. I think they all did a great job on me. They’re champions for a reason, so they showed that today. I think we need to be more ready. Obviously, it starts with me. I need to be way better than that and just got to figure [it] out.”
“It’s not concerning,” Doncic said of the blowout loss. “I think it’s more of a big motivation. … They were the champions for a reason and it’s a big motivation. They started the year even better [than last season], I think so. It’s a big motivation to see how they play and try to stop them.”
Some of Doncic’s offensive workload will reduce imminently, with LeBron James expected to make his season debut over the next week or so.
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