NBA Dallas Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic, who was frustrated with his playoff berth, said his love for the franchise has not changed and he wants to play alongside Kyrie Irving next season.
“I have nothing to worry about because I’m happy here,” Doncic said after losing 117-138 to the San Antonio Spurs in the final game of the regular season on the 10th (Korean time), according to ESPN.
The Mavericks finished in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 38 wins and 44 losses, despite a blockbuster trade for All-Star guard Irving in the middle of the season. This is the first time the Mavericks have failed to advance to the postseason since the 2017-2018 season, which was Doncic’s rookie season.
While admitting that he felt more frustrated than ever in his recent five-year playing career, Doncic said that such frustration is ‘normal’ when a team loses as often as the Mavericks.
Dallas went 7-18 over the last two months of the season, dropping from 4th in the West to 10th.
Owner Mark Cuban said yesterday that he believes Doncic wants to spend his entire career in Dallas, and that the club needs to earn that kind of loyalty from a superstar.
ESPN has reported that there are concerns within the Dallas club that Doncic could request a trade in the summer of 2024 if there is no significant progress next season.
Doncic, who averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, career highs this season, dismissed the possibility of a transfer, saying, “I laughed because I didn’t know that was true.” 안전놀이터
However, he said he needs to have a productive offseason to become competitive again.
“Certainly something has to change. Last year we advanced to the Western Conference Finals. “I always talk about the chemistry we had. It was really good. But something definitely has to change.” Doncic has not said what changes he wants.
He said he hopes to have the same backcourt partner next season and wants Cuban to re-sign Irving this summer.
“I think it’s a very good fit [to build the backcourt with Irving],” said Doncic. it takes I hope he can continue to be here.”
Dallas only went 5-11 in games where Doncic and Irving played together. According to ESPN, this is the worst win percentage (.313) for two All-Stars as teammates since the 1976-1977 ABA-NBA merger.
Meanwhile, Irving, who declared that he would not discuss free agency until the end of the season a few days after being traded to Dallas, did not attend the media interview after the game.