If you want to build a championship-level team in the NBA, the first step is to acquire a championship-level first option.

Realistically, the team that wins the title normally rosters a top 5-ish player. There have been exceptions, but don’t make the mistake of using them to prove the rule.

They don’t. The Dallas Mavericks, therefore, are in an optimal position to build a championship-level team. If Luka Doncic isn’t one of your top 5 players in the NBA, he’d better be number six.

He still can’t do it alone. Even the most talented players in the NBA need co-stars. The Mavericks, in fact, just lost one.

LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Christian Wood Might Come Off Bench For Dallas Mavericks?

With Jalen Brunson joining the New York Knicks in free agency, this team ought to be in the market for a new secondary ball-handler.

Here’s a deal that lands them D’Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves.