Stephen A. thinks Luka Doncic will ask out of Dallas if the Mavs struggle next season 👀

I believe that if the Dallas Mavericks struggle this year, that Luka Doncic will ask out of Dallas. That is not inside information, that's just my opinion, okay? I believe he will ask out if they continue to struggle, because the West has gotten stronger. You look at Dallas to miss out on Jalen Brunson, all right? And to bring Kyrie up in there. If you and Kyrie are together, and for some reason that doesn't work, I think he'll ask out. And I think the likelihood of him asking out is significantly higher than Embiid asking out of Philly, okay? I think if that's the case, that's a major problem. Because I think it should be Joel Embiid first. Luka's been in the league for five years, going on six. Joel Embiid's been in the league for nine years. He played for two, damn near three years. I mean, yeah, I hear you. But Stephen A, I feel like what I've seen with Joel Embiid, and I am not absolving Joel Embiid of accountability. There have obviously been some things he's had to work through in his time there, maturity-wise, to become finally the MVP, a guy that you feel like you trust in to lead your team to a world championship. But I do believe what I've seen Philly do to Joel Embiid has been malpractice. I mean, we can go through the laundry list, Stephen A, of, I mean, they traded Mikel Bridges for Zaire Smith. His mom worked for the organization. Yeah. We've seen Brian Colangelo with the burner account. We've seen Jahliel Okafor and his father get into a fight with a cop. I mean, we've seen this team literally trade up when they could have stayed at three to get the player that they wanted to in Markel Fultz. And they left Jason Tatum to the Boston Celtics. I mean, come on now. How many times, I mean, they let Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick and Ursangulo Sova and Bellinelli walk for free. For free. Let them walk. I mean, Jimmy Butler told you. Y'all chose that over me. I mean, so if you're talking about surrounding Joel Embiid with the right pieces leadership-wise, because he's an A-plus talent, maybe B-plus leader, right? So you need a real leader around him. You're willing to let that walk? So I firmly, it should be Joel Embiid before it should be Luka. It should be. I'm not saying it is going to be. It should be. Let me challenge you on that. You see, here's the deal. I've watched Luka perform big time. I watched him take them to the Western Conference Finals. I watched Joel Embiid have a game six in Philly with a 3-2 lead and an opportunity to close Boston out and fade. And then in game seven, they got robbed. I'm sorry. At some point in time, don't get me wrong, coaching, organizational structure, culture, all those things are important. But J. Will, you know this better than me, bro. You know this better than me. There does come a moment where, and you said this in the past, not about this, not about Embiid, but you've said this in the past. There does come a moment where all of that goes aside and it comes down to you. Joel Embiid had the ball in his hand 48 minutes away from an Eastern Conference Finals, all right? I understand. And couldn't deliver. Now, it wasn't totally his fault. James Harden, we know that. But damn, you had it. It was right there. Okay, so real quick. I agree with you, Steve Nape. I agree with Jay overall, but partly because of exactly what you said. To me, when you look at what Joel Embiid has been through in Philly for nine years, yes, he got his money. Being that close. But it's also kind of always been about the star that they can put around him. To me, with all of those things under consideration, his shortcomings, the length of time, the decisions that the team has made, he could be the first to me in terms of this timeline that very well may just say, I need a change of scene to give myself the best shot. And that is a culmination of both the things that you are pointing out and the things that Jay has been pointing out. I think if he doesn't have the opportunity to make something happen this year sincerely, whether that's convincing James Harden to play his best ball and return to the role we saw last year, whether that's Dame Lillard, who we know wants to go to Miami, I think that we would see Joel Embiid asked to move before we would see Luca because to me, Luca has been very clearly made the centerpiece of that organization. And there is no question there. And Lillard's request for a trade is still working itself out as Dame time would like to call another city asterisk Miami home next season. Could Lillard be heading to the east where many wonder if he could find a place on one of the three contending teams in Boston, Philly or Miami? Per our agent Wojnarowski, as Blazers GM Joe Cronin explores the broader landscape, Lillard's agent Aaron Goodwin has been calling prospective trade partners and warning against trading for his client, team execs told ESPN. Goodwin is telling organizations outside of Miami that trading for Lillard is trading for an unhappy player. As interference goes, this is a time honored agent maneuver to depress offers and clear a path to a predetermined destination. Monica is here with us. Along with J. Will and Stephen A. Smith. All right. So the three teams we mentioned, Boston, Philly or Miami would give Dame the best shot at the title. Which one is it? First of all, Monica and J. Will co-sign with this. We all know Damian Lillard. There's no way that Aaron Goodwin is doing that without Damian Lillard's permission. I can tell you that. There's no way in hell that Aaron Goodwin would be doing that unless Damian Lillard said, this is where I want to go. Period. And as I said earlier, he won't go Boston. Just so we know. Now, to get that out of the way, when you look at it, I mean, what are you asking me here, Christine? As we look at Damian Lillard right now, inside all of these trade talks, to me, Miami is the best place. It's ideal. See, when you look at Boston, I got Boston as the favorites. That's presently constructed. You heard me. I did. You heard me. All right. You get go Jalen Brown, incoming Damian Lillard, as lethal as Damian Lillard could be. There's a transition. You got to figure that out. In Miami, Philadelphia, same thing. In Miami, he is the perfect missing piece. Okay. You got to wonder about the development and the maturation of Tyrese Maxxie, the health of Joel and B. Got to fit into Boston. In Miami, you don't need to do anything. Just insert him into the mix, and he's exactly what they need. Specifically, quintessentially, he is the perfect fit for what they are looking for. That's why I say Miami. All right. I'm old enough to remember when Miami was an eighth seed and lost their first playing game and then had a fortuitous bounce, I guess, in the next round. I'm giving all their props after the Bucs round, but I think if the Bucs were healthy, that might have turned out a little different. Tyrese, thank you. Here's my thing. I feel you, and I think personality-wise and skill set, yes. But I think I'm having a hard time letting go of Miami. Regular season Miami to start the playoffs and solely living on Miami that made it to the finals. Although, give them all their credit due. I actually kind of think Philly is the best chance because earlier segment, you will recall, the reputation of Dame versus the point guard that was in Philly when it comes to postseason. If Philly was that close with that roster, now it may look different if they were to acquire Dame, but if there was a Damian Lillard in that game six or seven versus Boston, I am fairly confident that it doesn't go the way it went because of what Dame could bring. And so to me, best chance, I actually think it's Philly. See, Monica, have you noticed that, you know, sometimes when you're on first take, Stephen A. Smith can slightly twist the context of the question. So as he said before, he's like, Dame would be the perfect fit for Miami. Yeah, you know what I mean? I'll be catching on. I'll be learning this hustle. I'll be learning this game. Doesn't necessarily mean to, you know, best shot at the title. So as once again, as Stephen A. has established, Dame does not want to go to Boston. We got it. Yep. With that being said though, with that being said, Dame, if they did, see, because I worry about, if you make the trade, if you're Philly, you have to give up a lot of assets, right? Then you're looking at KD and Devin Booker, same situation, they were stuck in Phoenix. Same thing in order, I feel you on the fit for Miami now that you don't have Gabe Vincent or you don't have Max Struess. But if you're giving up Jalen Brown and draft picks, once again, with what you said, Stephen A., Dame, Jason Tatum, and Porzingis together with Horford, with some other pieces, you can't tell me that that lineup just strictly on paper would not give Dame the best shot to beat the juggernaut coming out of the West and the Dibber Nuggets or stacking them going against the likes of Phoenix and how loaded Phoenix is. Well, let me twist that. Fair enough. No, no. I said it. I announced I was twisted. Here we go. I didn't lie. Let me twist it for a second. OK, I'll concede that point. Let me see if you'll concede this. I saw Miami Heat team beat Boston without Damian Lillard. So if you add Damian Lillard to Butler and out of bio being coached by, and let me say Martin, because even though he didn't show up in the finals, he showed up in the Eastern Conference finals average 19 points, 60% from the field, 49% 50 point range. If you can do that to Boston without Damian Lillard, although Smart is gone and Porzingis is there now. Is it possible that with Damian Lillard, Butler and out of bio? Hold on. You can do what you can do. But here's my thing. I would want to rewind a series back. Dame, Jimmy, Bam, healthy Milwaukee. Okay. You take it. You go on Miami. Why should I have faith in Milwaukee? From this perspective, I saw, I did see Giannis go down in half game one and then he's gone to game two and three. But I saw him come back from games four and five and get smoked. I did see that. I just did not him, the team. And I have faith in him. I don't have faith in Milwaukee the way y'all do. I don't. Even though I love the fact that Adrian Griffiths didn't come. Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube. For live streaming sports and premium content, subscribe to ESPN plus.