By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Although Dallas Mavericks fulfilled their great desire and acquired Luka Donic on the 2018 NBA Draft, the 19-year-old couldn’t join any live team practices until all the paperwork was finalized.
After Real Madrid has carried out all the necessary procedures, the “ball” was on the Mavericks‘ court and the signatures have been officially put to make Doncic an official Maverick.
Doncic has been impatient to start practicing with the team as he said after signing: “It’s been a long time. I’m so excited. I know I can just play, so that’s what I want to do, just play.”, he told Mavs.com.
Talking as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders, Luka Doncic officially signed his contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
The signing happened late Monday afternoon shortly after the Mavs arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center, where they defeated the Golden State Warriors, 91-71, in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2018. The rookie-scale contract will pay Doncic $5.467 million next season, $6.402 million in the 2019-’20 season, and $6.707 million during the 2020-’21 campaign.
In the fourth year of the contract, Doncic will receive a 26.4 percent increase from his ’20-’21 salary, according to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Or the Mavs can sign him to a long-term extension if they want to.
“It’s been a long time,” a relieved Doncic told Mavs.com. “I’m so excited. I know I can just play, so that’s what I want to do, just play.”
Doncic came to Las Vegas with the Mavs last Thursday in hopes that his contract situation would have been quickly resolved in time for him to play in at least one of the team’s summer league games. The 6-7, 218-pound multi-purpose guard from Real Madrid has been working out on his own on the side during practice sessions.
But it is highly unlikely Doncic will play in any of the Mavs’ remaining summer league games.
“Now we’ve got to get him some live practice time and see if we can get him a game or two,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “At this point it’s challenging because we’re into a high volume of games, we’ve been going every day, and so it’s going to have to be a day off at some point here.
“But he’s been doing everything that he can do to get himself ready and I know he’s anxious to get out there with his teammates. But we’re going to have to just wait and see. Hey look, there’s still a chance he can play a game or two.”
If Doncic does manage to play in a game in Las Vegas, he’ll do so without point guard Dennis Smith Jr. by his side. Smith didn’t play against the Warriors and won’t play in any more games this summer.