The Dallas Mavericks have cleaned house and are building around Cooper Flagg, although the fanbase and franchise are still haunted by the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In recent months, the Dallas Mavericks have had their fair share of franchise-altering events. They fired head coach Jason Kidd, brought in an accomplished front office of Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz, traded Anthony Davis, and drafted generational prospect Cooper Flagg.
All of that pales in comparison to the Luka Doncic trade, which kicked off a chain of events culminating in a complete tear-down of the Mavs' franchise.
Last February, Doncic was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the moment that the deal went down, fans recognized that it was a terrible move. It would take the Mavericks a few months to get on the same page, but the entire DFW area is still reeling from the deal.
Fortuntly, one Mavericks' legend thinks that the damage is fixable.
Derek Harper Makes Bold Doncic Claim
Derek Harper's jersey is just one of five jerseys the Mavericks have retired. The prevailing thought for six full seasons was that Doncic's number 77 would eventually be up there in the rafters next to Harper's.
Instead, Doncic has taken over as the face of the Lakers, and not by choice.
Harper thinks that Dallas clearing house and bringing in entirely new management and coaching might entice Luka to come back home.
"It just did not work out, especially here in Dallas," said Harper of the trade on FanDuel's Run It Back. "I mean, people love Luka here. I mean, I think he'll eventually retire a Maverick, is the way I feel about Luka and the Mavericks. They were connected completely and just didn't work out."
Doncic fully leaned into all things Dallas and Texas, repping the Lone Star State even when he made trips back to Slovenia. In his first few games against the Mavericks, he made it clear that there was bad blood between him and Nico Harrison, although he didn't seem to have any animosity toward his former teammates.
Doncic signed an extension with the Lakers, giving him a player option in 2028-29. By then, he will be 30 years old. If the Lakers have built a championship roster around him by then, expect him to stay in Hollywood. However, if the Lakers drop the ball, he might want to join a new team.
Of course, with the OKC Thunder and San Antonio Spurs poised to run the West for the next decade or more, the best move for Doncic might be to head to the Eastern Conference. However, if he gets a case of nostalgia, Dallas would eagerly welcome him back with open arms.
