The Dallas Mavericks and their owner Mark Cuban were sincere enough flying to Slovenia to offer a five-year, $207-million contract extension to Luka Doncic. The 22-year-old genius signed on it, making sure that the Mavericks can retain him until 2027 summer.

Having played three seasons in the NBA, Doncic averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.4 assists. His 3-point rate last season rose to 35 percent at which he could drain 2.9 triples per game. He has been considered for the regular season MVP for quite a while.

Having led the Mavericks to the playoffs in the past two seasons, Doncic was even more dominant in the postseason as he dropped 35.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists while making 4.4 shots from the 3-point line at 40.8 percent. Doncic had his playoff highlights as well after beating the buzzer against the Los Angeles Clippers. He is already a top playmaker in today's NBA.

However, the Mavericks have yet found proper help for Doncic. During this year's offseason, they extended Tim Hardaway Jr.'s deal by five years, $90 million; they signed free agents Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown. They surely wanted to do more and tried to chase Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley or Spencer Dinwiddie, only to find that none of them wanted to come to American Airlines Center.

That means the Mavericks will start the new season with basically the same squad from last year. Unfortunately, that roster is not good enough to make any difference in the Western Conference with the following problems.

Lack of the second playmaker

Basketball grows more "positionless" in today's NBA and Doncic has been doing an orchestrator's job most of the time. But the Mavericks still need the second player able to launch offense either from outside via screen play or from inside by posting up around the paint.

Jalen Brunson is a good player and works really hard, but he is not the material to make a starting point guard in a playoff team. Kristaps Porzingis was such a big disappointment in the series against the Clippers that he almost became toxic asset with his contract that has three years, $100 million left (player option in 2023).

Lack of a well-balanced final squad

From the Golden State Warriors' "Hampton Five" in 2017 to the Clippers' death lineup last season, every NBA team that targets the throne must have their ultimate squad for the clutch time of the game. Two things are necessary for such squads: First, players must be able to defend multiple positions; second, they have to be able to stretch the floor.

The Mavericks, unfortunately, don’t have any solution like this. Two years ago, they filled the roster with shooters but were too vulnerable defensively. One year ago, the team tried to pivot to toward defense by landing Josh Richardson and James Johnson but it did not work as they had expected.

What the Mavericks lack is full-sized forwards. Their perimeter players are too small, just like their big men are too slow in switch defense. Moreover, a balanced small-ball lineup needs 3D players. But what the Mavericks have are rarely good at both – they either lack 3-point shooting or qualified defense.

Before the 2021-22 NBA season begins, Doncic is again seen as a major candidate for the MVP award. However, as he gets closer toward the top individual honor, Doncic is also approaching the dilemma that many super stars have experienced: He is good enough as a player, but his team just can't win.

A lot of those guys chose to leave their teams after years of struggling. It's only a matter of time for Doncic to do the same if the Mavericks continue to operate like this.