When the Dallas Mavericks traded up for international sensation Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft, they understood the type of player that they were getting.Doncic, the reigning Euroleague MVP who also led Real Madrid to a championship last month, has a vast array of offensive skills for a 19 year old.But, since he is under contract with Madrid, a buyout has to take place before he can officially sign with and join the Mavs for their normal summer workouts and practices.Based on the fact that Doncic’s season overseas essentially ended a few weeks ago, Dallas made it clear last week that he might not play in any Summer League contests.For the time being, he’s being held out for a simple reason.

Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork

“He has not participated in a live practice yet because he needs to have his buyout completed with Real Madrid, he needs a FIBA letter of clearance, he needs a physical and he needs to sign his contract,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said on Thursday, per Dwain Price of Mavs.com.

The coach added that those items are close to being finalized.

“We’re getting close to getting those things done, but we’re not there yet and he has not had a live practice yet. But he will be in Vegas,” Carlisle added.

Interestingly, the coach revealed that Doncic could play in the Vegas Summer League, not completely ruling it out.

“He is going to continue to ramp up his work load and there remains a possibility that he could play,” Carlisle said. “But to what percentage I could guarantee that, I just can’t. I’m just not going to go there. … And remember, this guy just got done playing 10 days ago, or whatever it is. This is the set of facts that we’re looking at.”

Hilariously, Doncic stated that he’s excited to get on the practice court so he can dunk on his teammates.

Until he can get on the practice court, he has been limited to conditioning and shooting drills.

“He did a little bit of stuff today in a non-contact environment, but nothing live,” Carlisle said. “So that’s where we are.”

Allowing Doncic to build chemistry with his new teammates (especially second-year point guard Dennis Smith Jr.) will be paramount to his success as a rookie. Although he doesn’t necessarily need to show the rest of the league what he can do in the Summer League, it will be beneficial to get him on the same page as everyone else as the summer rolls along.