Luka Doncic misses the SuperMax contract but could do even more

A trade this weekend shocked the basketball world. Superstars Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis swapped seats in a three-team trade that sent Doncic to Los Angeles Lakers and Davis to Dallas Mavericks. Utah Jazz was also involved in the trade.

But it’s not just the basketball — consequences that raise questions – Doncic’s contract options are now in Flux. He is ready to lose on a lucrative contract extension from Mavericks. Had he not been traded, he could have signed a 5-year $ 345 million contract extension. Now his biggest long -term opportunity is an extension of 4 years $ 229 million.

However, he could potentially do more in the long run, said Espns Bobby Marks in a post on x.

Here’s what could happen, according to Marks: If Doncic signs a shorter view of the season, he could later sign a contract of a total of almost $ 420 million that would begin in his 11th year (he is currently seven this year. ?

NBA players with 10 years of service are automatically eligible for a SuperMax agreement -a type of contract extension in which NBA teams can provide eligible players up to 35% of the total CAP room awarded this team for up to five years. Because wage caps rise every year, the potential amount may be higher in the future than it is right now.

Doncic, 25, is currently on a five -year -old 215 million dollars contractWho transfers with him to Lakers and gives him an average annual salary of $ 43 million. It is set to expire at the end of the 2026-2027 season, but he could choose to opt out at the end of the 2025-2026 season.

He would almost certainly have done so if he had lived with Mavericks and been eligible for the SuperMax extension. It would have been the richest contract in the NBA story, on average $ 69 million a year and including a season 2030-31 that could have netted him $ 78 million, As per the marks.

But now he is no longer justified as players with less than 10 years of service generally have to remain on the same team to receive such an agreement. Although it was not his decision to move teams, he still lost eligibility.

Moving from Texas to California, Doncic now also owes far more in income taxes. Texas does not charge any individual income tax while California has Highest rate in the US

Meanwhile, 31-year-old is Davis Locked into a three-year expansion of $ 186 million that he accepted in August 2023 And will keep him under contract through at least 2026-2027 with Mavericks. He can choose whether he will sign up for the last year of his contract, 2027-2028, which would be worth almost $ 63 million.

Davis could also be eligible for the SuperMax extension, but given his injury history and age it is less likely that he would receive such an agreement.

Davis waived nearly $ 6 million as a trading kicker – an extra sum paid to a player if traded. He partially rejected because of the other monetary opportunities the trade presents, as a lack of state’s income tax in Texas and a potential contract extension with mavericks, Espns Dave McMenamine reported.

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