Is Luka Doncic Being In Europe Really An Obstacle To Mavs Return?

Is Luka Doncic Being In Europe Really An Obstacle To His Timely COVID-19-Era Return To The Dallas Mavericks?

DALLAS - The bfacts are a few weeks old, but they are true. As our friend Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports, Luka Doncic is indeed back in Slovenia with his family. And when it is time to return to Dallas for the commencement of NBA play, he will face a quarantine period.

The question isn't about Ramona's facts; the question is about the conclusion by some that this represents a Dallas Mavericks "obstacle.''

As Ramona writes: "Flying back the team’s home city presents an extra challenge. Foreign-born players such as the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, who flew home on a private jet to Slovenia after the NBA shutdown, according to sources, will have to fly back to the United States and then quarantine. 

"Even players who flew out of state during the shutdown will have to make their way back and then quarantine.''

We think "challenge'' might be the right word. (By the way, click on Shelburne's article; it's actually a deep dive into the latest on the NBA's issues here, with Doncic's travels but a sidebar.) But an "obstacle'' it is not, for a few reasons.

One, Doncic is not alone in having opted at some point to leave - as safely as possible - the cities in which they work to return to the homes where they and their families reside. So it stands to reason that every NBA team will face the "challenge'' of being able to instantly fully have the band back together for workouts - whenever it is that workouts are allowed.

Two, amid wild speculation that "the Mavs are now probably seriously looking into the possibility of not having their star once the season resumes,'' the fact is, Doncic (and other out-of-town NBA players) will simply return to the United States, and/or the cities of their employ, or maybe even to designated game sites in Orlando or Las Vegas - as soon as possible in advance of any actual start of training camp (which might be three-week sessions) and well in advance of the re-start of games.

It's been speculated that a quarantine period could take 14 days; we're not certain that's the NBA's view. But will Luka Doncic join his Mavs teammates as soon as the league makes it clear that there is a safe and smart reason and way to do so? We're fairly certain of that.