What’s Next For Mavs After Disappointing Season: ‘A Lot of People Won’t Be Back’
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The Dallas Mavericks were officially eliminated from postseason contention after Friday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, and now, big changes are coming this summer.
Although the Dallas Mavericks technically still have one more game remaining against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, their 2022-23 season essentially ended on Friday night, as they were eliminated from postseason contention in a loss to the Chicago Bulls in one of the more transparent tank jobs we’ve seen in some time.
Instead of keeping their hopes alive for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference heading into the final game of the season, Mavs management decided to put an end to things early in order to enhance the team’s chances of retaining this year’s first-round pick. With the loss, the Mavs currently have the 10th-best odds in the NBA Draft Lottery that will commence on May 16.
When the Mavs lost Jalen Brunson in free agency last summer, everyone knew they would take a step back this season, but even Dallas’ biggest critics couldn’t have foreseen the team being so bad that it wouldn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. The list of things that went wrong for the Mavs this season is long: unfortunate and untimely injuries, a severe lack of depth created by the front office’s offseason choices, shaky chemistry, questionable coaching decisions, and much more.
Now, after the Mavs go through the motions of one more game before heading out on summer vacation, the focus will shift to the offseason, where head coach Jason Kidd says there will be big changes.
“A lot of people won’t be back next season,” Kidd said after Friday’s loss to the Bulls. “There will be a lot of new faces.”
Kidd has faced a lot of criticism for how he’s coached the Mavs in his second season, but both owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison have given him the “he’s still our guy” stamp of approval in the last week. With that being said, it’s safe to assume that the Mavs are in for a massive, overdue roster overhaul this summer.
Dallas’ top priority is to re-sign star point guard Kyrie Irving. That’s the biggest step to turning around the franchise’s outlook for next season. Given that the NBA Draft will happen a week before free agency, the Mavs will have an opportunity to make significant roster changes before making their pitch to Irving.
The Mavs having a top-10 pick in the lottery is still not a given at this point, as there’s alway a chance they could fall down to 11th on lottery night and coney the pick to the New York Knicks. However, if the Mavs do keep their pick, this year’s draft class is deep enough to where Dallas will have many trade options to consider, whether it be a trade for more serviceable win-now players or a trade down in the draft order to obtain an additional pick.
Now, if the Mavs get lucky for the first time in franchise history and end up with the No. 1 pick – they have never moved up in the lottery – then they should take Victor Wembanyama and run. Completing roster depth can wait for a later day if something of that magnitude happens. It’s unlikely, but there’s a chance – a 3-percent chance to be exact, if the Mavs’ have sole possession of 10th in the lottery.
There are a lot of ‘what-ifs’ leading into this offseason, which is one Cuban can’t afford to screw up if wants to retain some credibility among NBA peers and his Mavs’ fan base. Luka Doncic was mostly unhappy throughout this season, and his MVP-caliber averages of 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists – something that hadn’t been accomplished in a season since Bulls legend Michael Jordan in 1988-89 – went to waste. The clock has started ticking for the Mavs to prove to Doncic that they can build a true contender around him.
“We’re trying to build a championship team and sometimes you gotta take a step back,” Kidd said. “We trust Cuban and Nico to put the pieces together to put us in a position to win a championship and so that’s our process today.”
There is no more hiding from the truth for these Dallas Mavericks. Their mask has been ripped off, and all of their weaknesses have been exposed and taken advantage of. That Western Conference Finals appearance a year ago is long gone, and now, it’s back to the drawing board.
Can the Mavs’ front office thrive amid the large amount of chaos and doubt that’s coming its way? We’ll have to wait a few months before we get that answer, but unlike last offseason, it appears that they’re at least going to try harder to make something significant happen this time around. It will be easier said than done.
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