Trade No. 4: At least make a call
Depending on who you believe – the media or Luka Doncic – the Slovenian is growing unhappy with his situation in Dallas. As great as Luka has been, the Mavericks haven’t sniffed any real playoff success during Doncic’s tenure.
The Mavs made the Western Conference Finals in 2021-22 before being run off the court by the Golden State Warriors.
Sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it?
It’s at least worth Portland General Manager Joe Cronin’s time to make a call to Dallas, and Doncic’s camp, to see what the deal is. Because if Cronin can pair him with Dame, the Blazers would have two of the best offensive players in league history working together – two players willing to share the ball, and two of the most clutch playoff performers in recent seasons.
Lillard’s postseason heroics are well-known to Blazers fans, and although it hasn’t led to wins – mostly because of his supporting cast – Doncic has been as clutch, if not moreso, in key playoff games.
He’s a 32.5 ppg scorer in his three career postseason appearances. He also averages 9.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists across those 28 postseason contests.
Doncic may be the ultimate pipe dream. But hey, there’s a possibility he might ask out of Dallas, the Mavericks grant that request, and the Blazers have the most enticing package to send back Mark Cuban’s way, right?
Probably not. This is the good ol’ trade with a 0.0 percent chance of happening. None of these trades, in fact, have anywhere near a legitimate shot at going down.
But you can imagine what it would be like if they did.