3 Theories On What’s Wrong With Luka Doncic-Mavs Relationship

The departure of Rick Carlisle adds another dimension to the brewing drama enfolding Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. A day prior, the Mavs parted ways with longtime president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson. This has created all sorts of reports and rumors left, right, and center. After all, with a generational basketball player right at the palm of your hands, front office drama should probably be the last thing on your mind.

Ultimately, it’s Doncic and the Mavs who know the state of their relationship — if everything is A-okay or rotting to the core. However, previous reports coupled with Nelson and Carlisle’s exit give us some indications of the root of the problem between the Slovenian and the organization. Let’s go through some and develop three theories on what’s wrong with the Luka Doncic-Mavs relationship.

Right after Doncic’s entry to the league in 2018, Carlisle never minced his words when talking about the Slovenian. Carlisle quickly believed that Doncic is a generational talent and even compared his playstyle to NBA legend Larry Bird. Carlisle backed his words of praise by giving Doncic the freedom to orchestrate the offense. This achieved relative success over their three-year partnership with the Mavs. Fans became excited about what’s to come.

Carlisle, being the great coach that he is, is very capable of adapting to any situation. This seemed to be the case in the first season of their relationship with the Mavs.

However, by default, Carlisle is known to be a controlling coach who wants to follow the system he himself developed. This stringent mentality has made him butt heads with Jason Kidd. Thanks to his assistant coaches Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts, Carlisle gave Kidd much more leeway to operate. The result: Carlisle won his first title as a coach. It would be safe to assume that Carlisle would’ve learned his lesson when Rajon Rondo joined the Mavs in 2014.

This was not the case as the veteran guard was controversially benched for the rest of the series after Game 2 of the first-round duel between the Mavs and the Houston Rockets.

A pattern seems to have emerged. Carlisle cannot co-exist that well with basketball minds equal or even greater than him.

Doncic Not Seeing Eye to Eye with A Front Office Figure

The Athletic published a report earlier this week which centered on Bob Voulgaris, the Mavs’ director of quantitative research and development. The report pointed out one particular instance when Doncic and Voulgaris had a verbal altercation. Doncic, who seemingly has a difficult time controlling his emotions, was signaled by Voulgaris to calm down during an impending outburst. As a response, Doncic reportedly said, “Don’t fucking tell me to calm down.”

It’s difficult to be certain if this incident alone marred the relationship between the two parties on the Mavs. Emotions are at an all-time high during a game. Words uttered, no matter how harsh, don’t carry much weight after the final buzzer.

A deeper examination of Voulgaris’ role with the Mavs might unveil a thing or two about how he spoiled the Mavericks-Doncic relationship. As for one, there are questions about Voulgaris’ mysterious past. He’s known to have been a professional gambler in the 1990s who made millions by simply observing the game-management tendencies of several coaches.

Apart from this, Mavs owner Mark Cuban is reported to have developed a liking for Voulgaris’ analytics approach to the game.

While a new approach to reading the game is always welcome, this will inevitably create tension with those who prefer to study the game by eye. Doncic enhanced the Mavs because he is one of the finest products of the European brand of basketball. His game emphasizes teamwork, movement, and crisp passing (from every position), among others. Analytics are great. But there can be no substitute for mastering the fundamentals and what’s obviously seen by the eye.

Cuban, longing for a fresh approach, developed a predilection for Voulgaris’ strategies, so much so that the executive developed a deeper and more active role on the Mavs. Reports say that he has become involved in in-game adjustments — something rare, if not unheard of, for front office roles.

While it was longtime Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson who arranged to trade for Doncic in the 2018 NBA draft, Cuban reportedly consulted Voulgaris (then newly hired) before pulling the trigger. These multiple roles have led some to say that he’s the second most powerful figure in the organization behind Cuban.

Cuban’s liking for Voulgaris inevitably overshadowed Nelson. The final stamp was made after the Mavs parted ways with him after a 24-year partnership. As noted, it was Nelson who saw Doncic’s potential and pushed for the trade for Trae Young in the 2018 NBA draft. This wasn’t just a case of Nelson spotting Doncic during a scouting trip.

After Nelson’s firing, Doncic shared that he has known the executive since he was a kid. Perhaps Nelson was the last string that Doncic was clinging to the entire time. Without Nelson in the fold, there are now more questions than answers with regard to the Mavs’ future.

Sure, they’ll secure the Slovenian for the next five years with a hefty $200 million contract. But will they be able to secure at least a title? Will Cuban find the right guy who can arrange the perfect team to complement basketball’s newest star with the Mavs?