Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki passed the baton for the organization’s success to Luka Doncic during his final year. Ever since then, Luka has been nothing lesser than a blessing for Mark Cuban and his beloved franchise. If not for him, there was no way the Mavs could’ve played the playoffs in their last two NBA seasons. 

But now, the Mavs can no more take pride in merely making it to the postseason. The last time they had traveled past the first round was in 2011, when they won the NBA title. So what do they need to do in order to make a deeper run into the playoffs?

Former NBA star wants Mark Cuban to up the ante

In a recent interview, Jalen Rose noted how Mavericks’ front office traveled all the way to Slovenia to offer Luka his max extension. Luka joined the Mavs in 2018 on a 4-year rookie deal that assured him $32 million. However, his worth is much more than that and he has now agreed to a whopping $207 million five-year deal that’ll keep him in Dallas until 2026.

But would that be enough for the Mavs to taste the ultimate success? Jalen Rose addressed this question, gave a shout-out to Tim Hardaway, and stated, “They’re gonna need one more All-Star caliber player to me to catapult themselves into contention status in the Western Conference. But we saw it this year, with Covid, with injuries, we’re going back to an 82 games schedule, there are crazy things that happen during a regular season.”

Why does Luka Doncic need a big star to help him?

If Luka’s debut Olympic appearance proved anything, it showed how just one more star on his Slovenian team could have given him at least a silver medal. Nevertheless, Luka (remember the 48-point game) played amazingly and put his body on the line for his nation. He can do the same and beyond for Dallas only if he gets a better unit.

Read more – Draymond Green Has a Lot to Say About Luka Doncic and Team USA Critics

Just as Jalen added, “The Lakers as an older bunch, they’re not gonna have #1 or maybe even a #2 seed. So that’s gonna leave the room for the teams like the Jazz, and for the Denver Nuggets, and all of those teams who are a lot younger that’s gonna play the marathon game. So it’s interesting to see how it works out for the Mavs, but as long as you can get Luka signed, you do that immediately.”

The 48-YO NBA analyst was signaling towards the uncertainty and the dangerous teams stacked in the WC. So even if Kristaps Porzingis plays to his potential, Luka might still need another name as his right hand. Do you agree? If yes, who can that addition be? Let us know in the comments section below.

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