NBA (DR) / TNT (DR)

A true star for the Mavericks and considered one of the favorites for the MVP, Luka Doncic will take a nice jackpot in the years to come. A good thing for the Slovenian, but Shaquille O’Neal advises him to be very careful. He even has something for him.

As the NBA continues to generate more and more money, players are taking advantage of it to line their pockets.

Considered one of the best players in the league, Luka Doncic is going to take advantage of it to earn quite a bit of money in the years to come.

His current contract is worth $215 million over 5 years, with a sum of almost $150 million over the next three seasons.

Nothing surprising about that, Doncic being considered the big star at the Mavericks.

The franchise is ready to do anything to keep him, knowing that it has no choice in trying to win the NBA championship.

There is no question of the player refusing either, even if he may be careful about his spending.

Luka Doncic advised by Shaquille O’Neal

While salary payments are usually spread out over several months, Doncic will have to be careful if he wants to avoid a disaster.

Jayson Tatum, for example, has a simple tactic: he lives only on sponsorship money.

His salary from the Celtics goes into a bank and the player does not touch it, so as to always have money on the sidelines.

Too many former NBA players have become poor, as Shaquille O’Neal can attest. The Lakers legend is doing well, but he advises Doncic to be careful going forward. How? By collecting a portion of his salary later:

Shaquille O’Neal on Luka Doncic : “Luka’s gonna make like $100 million. If I was him, I’d tell the Mavericks, ‘OK, just give me $20 million this year, and hold off on the $80 million until I’m not playing anymore.’

For O’Neal, the temptation will be less if the Mavericks delay the payment. This will save Doncic from money problems like many others before him. A real solution? It’s far from certain, but we imagine that Luka is already very careful.

O’Neal on Doncic : “That $80 million, it’s not $80 million after taxes. He should ask the Mavericks to just pay him $20 million now, and save the $80 million for later. He shouldn’t see it until he’s at least 35. Everybody has their own way of making and losing money.”

It’s unclear whether such a deal is possible, but Luka Doncic is hopefully well-rounded to manage his money. Too many players have had trouble in the past, so it’s important to be careful. And the Slovenian isn’t the only one concerned.