Here's how Luka Doncic could return to the Dallas Mavericks

As the NBA free agent season gets underway, an idea has been floated in the national media that the pressure is on the Los Angeles Lakers this summer to start creating a team that Luka Doncic likes ... or else.

Or else Luka will want out of Los Angeles, and he just may want to return to the city that he loves. The city that adores him. 

That would be Dallas.

Keep in mind, this is purely conjecture on the part of NBA pundits, but the fact that Nico Harrison no longer works for the Mavericks makes some believe the idea is plausible. 

However, a Doncic reunion with the Mavericks is not easy to envision. After all, Mavs Governor Patrick Dumont publicly criticized Luka's work ethic in the immediate aftermath of the trade with the Lakers last year, saying, "If you look at the greats in the
league, the people you and I grew up with - Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq - they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win. And if you don't have that, it doesn't work, and you shouldn't be part of the Dallas Mavericks."

So, is it even possible that Luka could return to Dallas?

Barring a trade, which is highly unlikely, any chance of it happening would be at least two years away. Luka's under contract for two more seasons, and he has a player option for the 2028-29 season as well. He is also eligible for a massive $417 million contract extension before 2028.

Much like the situation the Mavericks would have faced with a looming monster Doncic contract extension decision last year, the summer of 2028 figures to be the tipping point on Luka's future with the Lakers.

That's when Doncic can decide if the Lakers have done enough to put a championship team around him. And it's also when the Lakers can decide whether to make a nearly $500 million commitment to Dončić.

So, the Lakers are on the clock.

Meanwhile, in the words of new Mavericks President Masai Ujiri, "We've planted a Flagg here. We have one player here that can turn everything, and it is so hard to find in sports."