Mavs Rumors: Luka Dončić 'Starting to Be Much More Involved' in Personnel Discussions

Luka Dončić is already the face of the Dallas Mavericks, but he is reportedly doing some work behind the scenes as well.

During an appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst (h/t RealGM), ESPN's Tim MacMahon said the star player is "starting to be much more involved in the personnel discussions."

MacMahon continued: "Where previously it's always been like, 'Y'all can let me know, but I don't really want to be involved right now.'

"He's starting to be much more involved. The ideas aren't just being bounced off him is my understanding. He's bouncing some ideas the other way as well."

The comments come after MacMahon reported Dončić "strongly indicated he wants the Mavs to upgrade before the Feb. 9 trade deadline."

While Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals last season with Dončić leading the way, it's not difficult to see why it needs to make improvements to come close to that level again this season.

For one, Jalen Brunson is no longer sharing the backcourt with the MVP candidate after signing with the New York Knicks this past offseason. The defense is also a problem and checks in at No. 25 in the league's efficiency ratings, per NBA.com.

Dončić can bring an incredible level of individual brilliance every night while averaging 33.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, but it will only get the team so far with a terrible defense and not enough help around him.

Only the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (37.9 percent) has a higher usage rate than Dončić's 37.2 percent, per NBA.com, and that type of workload could play a factor come playoff time if Dallas' go-to player is starting to show signs of fatigue.

Nobody would know which type of players he'd like to play with better than Dončić as the 24-22 Mavericks look to find more consistency, and he will apparently be more directly involved in the team's attempts to address those various concerns.