Since the night of February 1st, 2025, Dallas Mavericks fans have been drawing up plots on how to get Luka Doncic back from arguably the most infamous trade in history. One Mavericks legend and current Mavs color analyst, Derek Harper, thinks that's in the works, at least one day.
Doncic was the face of the DFW metroplex. Maybe Dak Prescott is now, but the plays he made in a Mavs uniform stunned the entire NBA world at times. Doncic immediately took the torch from Dirk Nowitzki and became the leader of the Mavericks. Luckily, Harper thinks the former Mavs legend will have a similar LeBron James-style reunion story, which should give Mavs fans all the hope in the world. Here's what he said on Run It Back on FanDuel TV:
"I would not want my name on that trade, if I ever had anything to do with the NBA. You look back, you gave away 30 points, eight and nine, you gave it to somebody else for a guy that is no longer on your roster...I think he'll eventually retire a Maverick is the way I feel about Luka and the Mavericks they were connected completely."
Derek Harper thinks Luka Doncic will come back and retire with the Mavericks
It's the ultimate comeback story. There's way too much of a connection between the Dallas fanbase and Doncic not to try to make a reunion happen.
Doncic can become an unrestricted free agent in either 2028 or 2029. There are also no state taxes in Texas, which could entice him to come back to wear a Mavs uniform. The way the Mavs operate now is also completely different.
The Mavs appear to be cleaning house from previous years. Former general manager Nico Harrison was fired, Masai Ujiri was hired and Jason Kidd left. Additionally, Mavericks co-general manager Matt Riccardi left right after Kidd headed out the door. Ujiri and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont are trying to correct the Doncic trade. No one in the organization is saying it, but it's clear the Mavs are at least trying to move forward.
Since Harrison was fired, and the centerpiece of the Doncic trade, Anthony Davis, was traded only one year after a failed experiment, Doncic is the last one standing. The six-time All-NBA First Team guard was playing the best ball of his career in Dallas and is now still on that trajectory with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Harrison also screwed over Doncic financially, as Doncic missed out on the largest contract in NBA history for five years and $345 million. Doncic is already a rich man, and there's reason to believe that he misses Dallas in general. He's expressed a strong desire to return and retire in Dallas.
Respectfully, he loves playing for the Lakers, who are more set up for success than Dallas as we speak, but as soon as Cooper Flagg becomes one of the faces of the league, Doncic coming back could make for one of the more dangerous duos in the NBA.
It's a similar comeback story that we've seen before. James is from Akron, Ohio, and the stars aligned for him to come back to Cleveland. Slovenia will always be Doncic's hometown, but there's a great reason to believe that Doncic treats Dallas as his American home, and with James at 41 years old set to retire soon, the Mavericks need to be all over Doncic in two years from now.
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