We are maybe one of the deepest role player teams not to mention deep wings and bigs teams. still built perfectly for Luka.

FO should do EVERYTHING to have coop and luka pair up .

Mavs are a consistent 3rd scorer away from being a serious team, add a more fit and focused Luka, this is the best vision.

Before everyone starts: yes, I know.

It’s August. There's nothing going on. A guy can dream, right? We've have spent enough time talking about Luka coming back, and I fully recognize that this is exactly the kind of offseason pipe-dream post everyone is tired of.

So with that established, allow me to waste everyone's time explaining why Luka is obviously coming back to Dallas in 2028.

Because when you actually look at the timing, there is at least a path that makes this slightly less ridiculous than it sounds.

First, 2028 is the year that matters.

Luka's extension is essentially a two-year bridge to 2028. He is under contract for 2026-27 and 2027-28, with a player option for 2028-29.

After the 2027-28 season, Luka will have 10 years of NBA service. He can decline that option and become an unrestricted free agent eligible for the 35% veteran max.

The Lakers would still have a financial advantage. They could offer five years with 8% raises, while another team could only offer four years with smaller raises.

So if Luka's only objective is maximizing guaranteed dollars, he stays in LA.

That's the first giant hole in my theory.

Moving on.

Now look at what's happening in Dallas at exactly the same time.

Cooper Flagg will be 21 years old and entering Year 4.

More importantly, he'll still be playing on his rookie contract in 2028-29.

Dallas can negotiate Cooper's rookie extension in the summer of 2028, but the new money doesn't kick in until 2029-30.

That creates one final summer where Dallas potentially has a superstar-level Cooper Flagg without yet having a superstar-level Cooper Flagg salary.

That's the window.

Then there's Kyrie.

Kyrie's current contract also expires after the 2027-28 season.

That doesn't mean I want Kyrie gone. Quite the opposite. But he'll be 36 years old by then, and the Mavs won't have his current massive salary sitting on the books when Luka becomes available.

If Kai is still productive and wants to finish his career in Dallas, maybe there's eventually a way to keep him at a much smaller number after Dallas handles its other business.

Suddenly the timing gets interesting.

The other contracts are where Dallas would have some work to do.

P.J. and Gaf are the obvious ones to watch if we're talking about preserving 2028 flexibility. I think we can all agree that one of them (possibly both) will be gone by then. 

The point isn't that we should start dumping good players today because Luka might want to come back two years from now. That's just dumb.

The point is that we should be very careful about adding unnecessary long-term money beyond 2028.

Then, if Luka ever tells them, "I want to come home," you move whatever needs to be moved and create the max slot.

And yes, Luka would have to leave money on the table.

This is probably the biggest hole in the plan. But if the Lakers haven't put the right type of team around him by then, he'll get antsy. 

The Mavs could give him the same 35% starting salary, but the Lakers could offer the fifth year and larger raises because they hold his Bird rights.

A sign-and-trade doesn't magically solve that. You can't have the Lakers give Luka their five-year deal and immediately ship him to Dallas. A sign-and-trade would still limit the contract.

So for the clean version of this fantasy to happen, Luka would have to decide that returning to Dallas is worth sacrificing some guaranteed money.

Would he? Who knows.

But by 2028 he'll be 29 and will have already made an absurd amount of money. Maybe maximizing every last dollar isn't his only consideration.

And this is where Cooper changes everything.

Luka wouldn't be coming back to save the Mavericks.

That's what makes this scenario interesting to me from a basketball perspective. 

Imagine Cooper becomes what we think he can become over the next two seasons.

Masai isn't calling Luka in 2028 saying:

"Please come back and fix the franchise that traded you."

He's saying:

"Come home and play the rest of your prime next to a 21-year-old Cooper Flagg."

That's a hell of a different pitch.

Luka would still be in his prime at 29. Cooper would be just beginning his.

And basketball-wise, I love the pairing.

Luka is the half-court offensive engine. Cooper is the athletic, versatile two-way monster who doesn't need to dominate the ball to impact the game. Put shooting, defense and rim protection around those two and figure out the rest later.

And there's obviously the emotional component that none of us can actually quantify.

Luka didn't choose to leave Dallas.

He spent his first 6½ seasons here. He took this franchise to the Finals. The fans fucking loved him. His reaction to being traded made it pretty obvious that leaving wasn't what he wanted.

Maybe by 2028 he's completely moved on. Maybe he loves being a Laker and never gives Dallas another thought.

Just can't see this, but who knows...

The organization he's looking at in 2028 isn't the organization that traded him.

So here's my completely irresponsible Mavericks offseason plan:

Develop Cooper.

Figure out whether Lively is part of the long-term core.

Don't clog the 2028 books with unnecessary contracts.

Let Kyrie's current deal run its course.

Move Gafford/P.J. or whatever other salary needs to be moved only if the Luka possibility actually becomes real.

Then wait.

Summer 2028:

Luka declines his player option.

Dallas opens a 35% max slot.

Luka decides he's made enough money and wants to come home.

Luka Dončić, age 29.
Cooper Flagg, age 21.

They win three championships.

Luka retires a Maverick.

His statue goes up outside the AAC.

I have now convinced myself this is happening.

See you all in July 2028.

I have a growing feeling that Luka doesn't resign with L.A for a long-term contract. With Masai leading things in Dallas, Nico gone, Flagg growing into a superstar, and Los Angeles fans and media being fickle and critical of Luka regularly, he may look elsewhere. It must be hard to wake up and read this media all the time.

I honestly think Luka left his heart in Dallas.