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2022-2023 Dallas Mavericks season thread: Luka's first MVP

RexWilson

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49143

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24 minutes ago, SilasCoade said:

I disagree that they have no options for improving the roster.

If they can get Kyrie or Wood to participate in a sign-and-trade they have some worthwhile pieces.

They have around 27M in cap space, 53M before hitting the luxury tax. An additional 10M is marked for Bullock but is non-guaranteed, so I assume they could cut him or buy him out and get that cap space back.

There are some interesting free agents if they commit to revamping the roster. Jerami Grant or revisiting the Harrison Barnes experience for ~25M per is not a terrible option but you'd rather throw 10-12M at Poetl and a collection of shooters. Moritz Wagner or Naz Reid would not be bad targets as affordable bigs either. Trez Harrell has a player option and has to be disappointed in his role on the Sixers. He could probably be wooed. I mean, it's not hard to upgrade from Powell.

Max Strus is a nice target as an affordable shooter. Can they get Vasilije Micic from Euroleague? Not sure the status on his draft rights but he's a 6th man of the year candidate for a team like the Mavs who need a scoring playmaker to lead the second unit.

Pulling off some trade wizardry to net somebody like Myles Turner and you've got a decent playoff squad.

Equally important to roster moves though is jettisoning Kidd and having a nutritionist and personal trainer live with Luka 24/7. If Luka comes in with body fat under 12% he'll be much more effective.

They really need to find the James Worthy / Scottie Pippen guy for Luka in the next two years though.

Keeping the #10 pick only adds to the Mavs off-season options...

TANK... TANK...     💥 TANK-TIME  !!!  💥

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LurkingHorn

LurkingHorn 1066

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2 hours ago, SilasCoade said:

I disagree that they have no options for improving the roster.

If they can get Kyrie or Wood to participate in a sign-and-trade they have some worthwhile pieces.

They have around 27M in cap space, 53M before hitting the luxury tax. An additional 10M is marked for Bullock but is non-guaranteed, so I assume they could cut him or buy him out and get that cap space back.

There are some interesting free agents if they commit to revamping the roster. Jerami Grant or revisiting the Harrison Barnes experience for ~25M per is not a terrible option but you'd rather throw 10-12M at Poetl and a collection of shooters. Moritz Wagner or Naz Reid would not be bad targets as affordable bigs either. Trez Harrell has a player option and has to be disappointed in his role on the Sixers. He could probably be wooed. I mean, it's not hard to upgrade from Powell.

Max Strus is a nice target as an affordable shooter. Can they get Vasilije Micic from Euroleague? Not sure the status on his draft rights but he's a 6th man of the year candidate for a team like the Mavs who need a scoring playmaker to lead the second unit.

Pulling off some trade wizardry to net somebody like Myles Turner and you've got a decent playoff squad.

Equally important to roster moves though is jettisoning Kidd and having a nutritionist and personal trainer live with Luka 24/7. If Luka comes in with body fat under 12% he'll be much more effective.

They really need to find the James Worthy / Scottie Pippen guy for Luka in the next two years though.

I will fully admit I don’t know all the details of the CBA, but this guy does and here is where the roster would stand after re-signing KI, not getting a 1st, and letting Wood walk.

Not great…

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SilasCoade

SilasCoade 2622

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3 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

I will fully admit I don’t know all the details of the CBA, but this guy does and here is where the roster would stand after re-signing KI, not getting a 1st, and letting Wood walk.

Not great…

Yeah, but that's also just not going to happen. There is a zero point zero percent chance that the Mavs sign Kyrie to a max deal with the intention of keeping him on the roster. Also, they do keep their first if they stay out of the play-in, which I consider pretty likely at this point.

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LurkingHorn

LurkingHorn 1066

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2 hours ago, SilasCoade said:

Yeah, but that's also just not going to happen. There is a zero point zero percent chance that the Mavs sign Kyrie to a max deal with the intention of keeping him on the roster. Also, they do keep their first if they stay out of the play-in, which I consider pretty likely at this point.

It is not a given that they will be in the top 10 of they miss the playin. That’s why they need to tank. 

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gsoda3

gsoda3 3245

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12 hours ago, SilasCoade said:

IThere are some interesting free agents if they commit to revamping the roster. Jerami Grant or revisiting the Harrison Barnes experience for ~25M per is not a terrible option but you'd rather throw 10-12M at Poetl and a collection of shooters. Moritz Wagner or Naz Reid would not be bad targets as affordable bigs either. Trez Harrell has a player option and has to be disappointed in his role on the Sixers. He could probably be wooed. I mean, it's not hard to upgrade from Powell.

Max Strus is a nice target as an affordable shooter. Can they get Vasilije Micic from Euroleague? Not sure the status on his draft rights but he's a 6th man of the year candidate for a team like the Mavs who need a scoring playmaker to lead the second unit.

Pulling off some trade wizardry to net somebody like Myles Turner and you've got a decent playoff squad.

Equally important to roster moves though is jettisoning Kidd and having a nutritionist and personal trainer live with Luka 24/7. If Luka comes in with body fat under 12% he'll be much more effective.

They really need to find the James Worthy / Scottie Pippen guy for Luka in the next two years though.

 

Poetl would be great.  $10 - $12 mm isn't going to get it done though.  Myles Turner should have happened last season.  Him plus a 6'7" version of Josh Green and I think we're sitting top 4 in the West-  despite Jason Kidd.  We're not as bad as our record indicates the past month.  I really think we're two pieces away from being very very good. 

 

 

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Mitch Cumsteen

Mitch Cumsteen 18547

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10 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

 

Poetl would be great.  $10 - $12 mm isn't going to get it done though.  Myles Turner should have happened last season.  Him plus a 6'7" version of Josh Green and I think we're sitting top 4 in the West-  despite Jason Kidd.  We're not as bad as our record indicates the past month.  I really think we're two pieces away from being very very good. 

 

 

Yeah.... you're not getting Poetl for that. That number is way below market value. The Spurs have all the cap in the world and they weren't even willing to bite off what the number will be for him. I'm pretty sure Toronto made that trade with the understanding that he will re-sign there and with a number in mind. I'd imagine you would have to money whip the hell out of him to get him to move.

And what exactly are they going to give up for Myles Turner? He's got two more years on a team friendly and recently renegotiated contract in Indy where they overpaid him this season with a lower salary going forward. He doesn't seem likely to be on the move.  

Honestly, their best option may just be re-signing Kyrie. I know shit went bad this year, but I don't think it's his fault. Granted, he's a time bomb ticking, but if you got enough size and defense and shooting around he and Luka you might have a puncher's chance. They both could use a true rim running big as a pick and roll partner.  

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gsoda3

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6 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Yeah.... you're not getting Poetl for that. That number is way below market value. The Spurs have all the cap in the world and they weren't even willing to bite off what the number will be for him. I'm pretty sure Toronto made that trade with the understanding that he will re-sign there and with a number in mind. I'd imagine you would have to money whip the hell out of him to get him to move.

And what exactly are they going to give up for Myles Turner? He's got two more years on a team friendly and recently renegotiated contract in Indy where they overpaid him this season with a lower salary going forward. He doesn't seem likely to be on the move.  

Honestly, their best option may just be re-signing Kyrie. I know shit went bad this year, but I don't think it's his fault. Granted, he's a time bomb ticking, but if you got enough size and defense and shooting around he and Luka you might have a puncher's chance. They both could use a true rim running big as a pick and roll partner.  

i also think their best and probably easiest option is signing kyrie.  he made a statement this weekend on how he saw his trade to dallas as a long term process so there's hope he'll commit.  the price tag for myles turner would be steep-  if it involves green or hardy i would think really hard before making that trade.  in the right hands and the right situations (not jason kidd) their ceilings are borderline all star level.

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Fastbreak

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One more potential sign and trade destination would be Philly (if harden leaves).

It would have to be an almost straight up with Tobias Harris.

So we have:

1. Lakers: Beasley, Bamba and Vanderbilt

I doubt the Lakers would do this. They have $86 million next year to Lebron and AD. Adding Kyrie on a $30 sign and trade gives them no flexibility.

2. Suns: CP3 and Payne

This doesn’t really help the Mavs. The Suns don’t have a wing they could include with Paul.

3. Philly: Harris

This is probably best for the Mavs in the very short run. But they take on Harris at $39m. But between Luca, Hardaway (lol), Bertans (double lol) and Harris this would be basically capped out.

4. Miami: Lowry and Jovic

I think Spo would choke a bitch. Can’t see this happening.

5. Chicago: DeRozan and Terry

DeRozan is old but Cuban is stupid, so maybe he will go off 2018 film. I doubt the Bulls want in on the Kyrie experience.

6. Minni: Gobert

Gives the Mavs a rim protector. Gives Minni an out on a terrible contract. Cuban isn’t THAT stupid (welp).

The other possibilities are 3 team trades. But once again there aren’t many teams who would take him. If would have to be moving some of the pieces above.

No: NYK, BRK, BOS, CLE, UTA, SAS, HOU, MIL, GS, SAC, IND, POR, DEN

Maybe: CHA, WAS (no contract assets)

If you are for re-signing Kyrie, very few teams have anywhere close to a max slot and all of those are no list.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49143

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Posted (edited)
16 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Wait. Can they miss the play-in and still lose their pick to the Knicks? That takes a truly special kind of needle threading to accomplish something that horrendous.

Yes

Screenshot_20230407-085038_kindlephoto-1447617.png.e75b8c6cd2636b019ec37cf06d2ee7f4.png

 

Screenshot_20230407-084922_kindlephoto-1371657.thumb.png.86c45cc644ca5f684f5064b3b17917f2.png

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Fastbreak

Fastbreak 3981

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Nash walked without compensation (then 2x MVP)

Chandler walked without compensation (DPOY next year)

Brunson walked without compensation (all star)

Kidd, Mashburn, Jackson traded for pennies on the dollar

It’s always been a shit show. Cuban just got lucky with Dirk. If Dirk busted, we would be talking about the worst franchise in history.

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Loch Ness Monster

Loch Ness Monster 3533

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Crazy part are there are still Mavs fans online that say 'F**K TEAM TANK. I will never root for my team to lose."

Kind of wonder what world someone like that lives in really. 

48 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

Nash walked without compensation (then 2x MVP)

Chandler walked without compensation (DPOY next year)

Brunson walked without compensation (all star)

Kidd, Mashburn, Jackson traded for pennies on the dollar

It’s always been a shit show. Cuban just got lucky with Dirk. If Dirk busted, we would be talking about the worst franchise in history.

Every move in a vacuum made some sense. The story goes with Nash is the Maverick team doctors said Nash's back was f**ked and it was all downhill from there. How much of that is true I don't know.

Brunson struggled in the 2021 playoffs against the Clippers. Lots of people were saying two years ago maybe he was a regular season player and the Mavs could get him for cheap. Midway through the 2022 season Brunson decided he was out of Dallas though. Jalen said his goodbyes to all the players after the 2022 playoffs ended. He was gone by that point.

Ultimately comes down to after that 2011 chip Cuban no longer cared about championships. Sure he didn't want the Mavs to suck or be personally ridiculed but he cares especially about the money aspect now. On the flipside you see an organization like Golden State where even after 4 freaking chips they are still willing to go all out to spend.

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Gene Parmesan

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48 minutes ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Every move in a vacuum made some sense. The story goes with Nash is the Maverick team doctors said Nash's back was f**ked and it was all downhill from there. How much of that is true I don't know.

100% true.  Nash retired shortly after his days with the Mavericks, and never amounted to much outside of Dallas.  Those doctors and Cuban's understanding of the game dodged us a major bullet.  

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idigTexas

idigTexas 2284

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1 hour ago, Gene Parmesan said:

100% true.  Nash retired shortly after his days with the Mavericks, and never amounted to much outside of Dallas.  Those doctors and Cuban's understanding of the game dodged us a major bullet.  

Never mind...my sarcasm filter needs servicing. 

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dcar00

dcar00 14153

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Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Wait. Can they miss the play-in and still lose their pick to the Knicks? That takes a truly special kind of needle threading to accomplish something that horrendous.

If it were the spurs or rockets in this situation the basketball gods(or the NBA) would figure a way to get them in the play in and KEEP the 10th pick.

I have no doubt the Mavs will miss playoffs and lose the 10th pick

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LTtxfan

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Kyrie Irving among 5 Mavericks ruled out for must-win game

Tim MacMahon    ESPN Staff Writer

DALLAS -- All-Star guard Kyrie Irving and four key Dallas Mavericks role players will sit out Friday night's home game against the Chicago Bulls, a game the Mavs must win to avoid being eliminated from the play-in scenario.

The team announced late Friday morning that Irving (right foot injury recovery), shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle soreness), small forward Josh Green (rest), and power forward/centers Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury recovery) and Christian Wood (rest) would sit out against the Bulls, essentially for precautionary reasons.

Dallas (38-42) is tied with the Bulls for the 10th-best lottery odds and owes the New York Knicks a top-10 protected pick as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

The Mavericks must win Friday night and Sunday afternoon against the San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder must lose at home Sunday to the Memphis Grizzlies, for Dallas to qualify for the play-in as the Western Conference's No. 10 seed.

All-Star guard Luka Doncic is listed as probable because of left thigh injury recovery. On Tuesday, Doncic publicly rejected the idea of sitting out down the stretch as a tanking measure to protect the Mavs' lottery position.

"When there's still a chance, I'm going to play," Doncic said Tuesday when asked about sitting out down the stretch. "So that's not going to happen yet."

Mavs governor Mark Cuban, who paid a $600,000 fine in 2018 for publicly admitting the Mavs were tanking, said Wednesday night that "of course I understand" the thought process from fans that protecting the lottery position is Dallas' smartest strategy down the stretch.

"The guys don't want to do that," Cuban said. "Players aren't going to do that. Players don't do that." 

 

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LurkingHorn

LurkingHorn 1066

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40 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

If the Mavs go into the 2023 NBA Lottery with the #10 pick, and the lottery results give Dallas the #11 spot or worse, do the Mavs then have to surrender the pick to the Knicks??

Yes. This is why it was stupid as hell to win the SAC game. It was fucking pointless because it put us in no man's land. And now we can't even tank the CHI game correctly. Just amazing ineptitude. 

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49143

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2 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

If the Mavs go into the 2023 NBA Lottery with the #10 pick, and the lottery results give Dallas the #11 spot or worse, do the Mavs then have to surrender the pick to the Knicks??

Yes is the answer as @LurkingHorn  said

Found answer in this in article... 

https://thesmokingcuban.com/posts/dallas-mavericks-must-lose-bulls-april-7-salvage-future

Quote

Why the Dallas Mavericks need to lose to the Bulls to salvage their future

Dallas and Chicago are both 38-42 entering Friday’s showdown. The Bulls have locked up tenth in the Eastern Conference, and they will be in the Play-In Tournament. That gives Chicago the luxury of resting their best players with a likely top-ten draft pick on the line.

The loser of the April 7 showdown will likely finish with the tenth-worst record in the NBA this season and the winner the 11th, which is massive for the Mavericks. They owe their 2023 first-round pick to the Knicks with a top-ten protection. If Dallas finishes with the tenth-worst record, they have a 79.8 percent chance of keeping their pick. Those odds drop to 9.4 percent with the 11th-worst because Dallas has to move up into the top four to retain their selection.

If the Bulls win and the Mavericks lose on Sunday, they would finish with the same record and a coin flip would take place to see who gets the better lottery odds. That would be a franchise-altering coin flip if it happens. If Chicago wins two games in the Play-In Tournament and reaches the playoffs, they would no longer be in the lottery, which means the Mavericks would move ahead of them in the draft.

Likely the winner on Friday night drops to the 11th-worst record and stays there. The Dallas Mavericks doomsday scenario is potentially playing out where they owe the Knicks the 11th pick as they miss both the postseason and keeping their draft pick.

Luka Doncic is not going to want to rest on Friday night because it is Slovenian Night in Dallas with many people from number 77’s home country visiting for the game. No way he wants to end his season sitting on the bench and losing to the undermanned Bulls to try to keep their draft pick after fans from Slovenia traveled nearly 9,000 miles to see the contest.

A loss does not guarantee the Dallas Mavericks anything. The draft lottery will take place on May 16, and the top four selections will be chosen. If a team below Dallas or the Mavericks themselves jump up, they get a top-four pick. It could potentially push Dallas down to the 11th selection and force their pick to convey to the Knicks anyways.

 

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49143

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NBA investigating Mavs for sitting key players amid playoff hunt

2:34 PM CT     Tim MacMahon  ESPN 

The NBA will investigate the Dallas Mavericks' decision to sit out several key players in Friday night's 115-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls that eliminated the team from Western Conference play-in contention.

"The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions," NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Saturday afternoon.

Dallas entered the day tied with the Bulls for the 10th-best lottery odds and owes the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd called it an "organizational decision" to rest the majority of Dallas' regular rotation, attributing the choice to governor Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.

The Mavs announced late Friday morning that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (right foot injury recovery), shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle soreness), small forward Josh Green (rest) and power forward/centers Maxi Kleber (right hamstring injury recovery) and Christian Wood (rest) would all sit out against the Bulls, essentially for precautionary reasons.

All-Star guard Luka Doncic played the first 12 minutes, 35 seconds before sitting out the remainder of the game.

"It's not so much waving the white flag," Kidd said after the game. "It's [that] decisions sometimes are hard in this business. We're trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward."

The Mavs do not plan for Doncic or any of the players who sat out to play in Sunday's season finale against the San Antonio Spurs, Kidd said.

Mavericks governor Mark Cuban, who paid a $600,000 fine in 2018 for publicly admitting the Mavs were tanking, said Wednesday night that "of course I understand" the thought process of fans that protecting the lottery position is Dallas' smartest strategy down the stretch.

"The guys don't want to do that," Cuban said Wednesday. "Players aren't going to do that. Players don't do that."

Cuban has not responded to requests for comment regarding the organization's decision to sit out several players or the league's investigation.

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49143

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The end of the Dallas Mavericks' season marks the beginning for a few franchise-altering questions

1:57 AM CT     Tim MacMahon ESPN 

Quote

DALLAS -- ONCE AGAIN, the Dallas Mavericks changed plans during a bizarre final week of what Luka Doncic described as "a very disappointing season."

A few days after declaring he'd play so long as the Mavs had even the slimmest of postseason hopes, the franchise announced Doncic would sit out after playing the first quarter in Friday night's home game against the Chicago Bulls, joining co-star Kyrie Irving and four other healthy core players on the bench.

Doncic had scored 11 points in the first quarter, chuckling with fellow European and foe Nikola Vucevic on several occasions, neither taking a game both franchises preferred to lose too seriously despite the fact that a loss would eliminate the Mavs from play-in contention.

But Doncic trotted back out onto the American Airlines Center court to open the second quarter. After going through the motions on a defensive possession, Doncic posted up on the right block, made a spin move and drove to the basket, pump-faking before laying the ball in for his 719th bucket of the season.

Seconds later, Doncic committed an intentional foul and checked out of the game, his season over, barring another sudden shift in the franchise's strategy.

The intention was for Doncic to be showered with a standing ovation by the sellout crowd on "I Feel Slovenia" night as he walked off the court. That didn't happen. Instead, there was a smattering of confused clapping.

It was an awkwardly fitting unofficial ending to a season in which nothing has unfolded as envisioned for the Mavericks, who took less than two months to morph from buzzing about a blockbuster trade -- a risky win-now move considering Irving's pending free agent status, among other factors -- to blatantly tanking in the regular season's final week.

The Mavs broke a tie with the Bulls in the lottery standings with the loss, standing alone with the 10th-best odds with one game remaining in the regular season. That's a critically important distinction for Dallas, which owes the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

"It's not so much waving the white flag," coach Jason Kidd said after the 115-112 loss to the Bulls, attributing the call to essentially pull the plug to Mavs governor Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.

"Decisions sometimes are hard in this business, and you have to make hard decisions. We're trying to build a championship team, and sometimes you got to take a step back.

"Understanding with this decision, this is maybe a step back, but hopefully it leads to going forward."

There's a strong sense of urgency within the organization to expedite the process before Doncic loses faith in the Mavs' ability to build a contender around him. He's wrapping up the first season of a five-year, $215 million supermax contract with a player option for the final season.

Team sources have acknowledged to ESPN that fear exists that Doncic, who publicly and privately expressed extreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn't make significant progress by then.

"He'd like to be here the whole time," Cuban said this week when asked about Doncic's long-term optimism. "But we've got to earn that."

Kyrie Irving, left, Luka Doncic and the Mavericks have lost eight of their last 10 games to fall out of play-in contention. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

CUBAN SMILED WIDELY as he stood in the Crypto.com Arena corridor outside the visitors locker room on Feb. 8. Dallas had just defeated the LA Clippers in Irving's debut with his new team, and the Mavericks were the talk of the NBA, at least until news of Kevin Durant's trade to the Phoenix Suns broke soon after.

Cuban, who has avoided the media spotlight much more since Harrison replaced Donnie Nelson as Mavs general manager, was basking in the glory of making such a big splash at the moment. The victory bumped Dallas to fourth in the West standings, and the Mavs believed they had upward mobility.

Dallas had desperately been seeking a co-star to pair with Doncic since the superstar's rookie season, when it took its first big swing on the Porzingis deal. Irving, an eight-time All-Star with a NBA Finals Game 7-winning shot on his resume, certainly fit the profile.

But trading for Irving -- and giving up two starters (Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie) plus an unprotected 2029 first-round pick -- was a big gamble. It was understood before the deal with the Brooklyn Nets was done that there would not be any discussions about a contract extension.

"We've got those Bird rights," Cuban said before laughing and realizing that he said the same thing about Doncic's former sidekick, Jalen Brunson, last summer after he starred during Dallas' surprising run to the West finals.

"I know what you're going to bring up!" Cuban said. "But I think it's a different set of circumstances."

The circumstances that led to Brunson's departure to the New York Knicks in free agency are a sensitive subject in the Mavs organization. They are also subject to some dispute, as Cuban made a point on Wednesday to publicly deny the year-old claim by Brunson's father, Rick, that the Mavs were informed in early January 2022 that the guard would sign the four-year, $56 million extension he was eligible for if it was put on the table at that time.

Dallas didn't put the deal on the table until after the trade deadline, when Finney-Smith accepted an identical offer. By then, it was clear that Brunson would command much more as an unrestricted free agent. He ended up getting a four-year, $104 million deal from the Knicks, who had hired his father as an assistant coach, the third time Rick Brunson has worked for Tom Thibodeau.

Those Bird rights ended up being irrelevant. Cuban claims now they never had a chance to prevent Brunson from joining his father and Leon Rose, the Knicks president who is his godfather and former agent, in New York.

"We didn't know what the bid was," Cuban said Wednesday. "They never gave us a number. Knowing the numbers now, I would've paid it in a heartbeat, but he wouldn't have come anyway. There's just no possible way that it was about money."

Cuban's comments came one day after Doncic, after his declaration that he wouldn't be shut down unless play-in hopes were completely extinguished, bemoaned how much the Mavs' chemistry had declined this season and admitted that the team sorely missed Brunson.

"A lot," Doncic said, shaking his head and gritting his teeth into a pained grin. "I mean, amazing guy, amazing player, for sure."

Doncic had grown impatient with the Mavs' mediocrity early in the season, when he was playing at an MVP-caliber level while carrying a historically heavy workload. For the first time in his career, Doncic enthusiastically engaged in personnel discussions with the front office, as sources told ESPN that he pushed for a major upgrade despite the Mavs' limited trade assets.

The Mavs pounced after Irving made his February trade request following the fizzling of contract negotiations with Brooklyn, which was hesitant to fully guarantee a long-term, maximum contract for a player who missed more games than he played during his Nets tenure.

Kidd and Doncic made it clear they wanted the deal done. Harrison and Cuban made it happen.

"I don't see any risk at all," Harrison said days later. "I actually see the risk in not doing it."

But Irving didn't prove to be a difference-maker for Dallas despite averaging 27.0 points and 6.0 assists in 20 games for the Mavs. Dallas won only eight of those and lost five of six that Irving missed after joining the team.

"Just understand, we're getting better," Kidd said after a March 13 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, which Doncic and Irving missed due to injury, dropped Dallas to a game under .500. "It's just a matter of, can we be healthy in time to make a stretch run? And if we're not, that's just the season. No one's dying."

The Mavs got healthy, but they still couldn't win. Doncic and Irving formed one of the league's most dynamic offensive duos, but the Mavs couldn't consistently outscore opponents due to their awful defense and poor rebounding.

The Mavs went 5-11 when Doncic and Irving were both in the lineup, a .313 winning percentage that ranks as the worst by a pair of All-Star teammates since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

"I'm getting traded to a new work environment, and it's just a lot of newness," Irving said after a March 29 loss in Philadelphia, part of a stretch of seven in eight games. "I'm trying to introduce myself to everybody, figure out, you know, who do guys go to on the team to confide in off the court? Who is our coaching staff as people? Upper management, who are they as people? What do they expect from me? ...

"What does our future look like? I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf---."

The Mavs never fought their way out of it. Cuban also made it clear that he hopes Irving is a part of the future, saying that re-signing the All-Star guard will be the franchise's top priority this summer despite the disappointing results after the trade.

"If I was a betting man, I guess I would say he would be back," Kidd said Friday night. "Why would I say he wouldn't?"

Can the Mavs be outbid?

"I don't know," Cuban said Wednesday, a couple of nights before Irving wore street clothes and sat next to him in the courtside baseline seats by the Mavs' bench. "I guess there's always too high a price, depending."

THE HOME CROWD booed the Mavericks on March 25, when the short-handed, lottery-bound Charlotte Hornets built an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. After the Mavs' comeback attempt fell short, Kidd wondered why the boos didn't come earlier.

The Mavs later proved that it hadn't yet hit rock bottom, losing to the Hornets again 36 hours later as Dallas continued to lose its grip on controlling its own postseason destiny. But this was a new low.

It was that night that Doncic admitted that he'd never been more frustrated during his five-year NBA career, pointing to the Mavs' struggles and unspecified problems in his private life.

"I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic said. "Sometimes I don't feel it's me. I'm just being out there. I used to have really fun, smiling on the court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball."

He was wearing a black T-shirt with white letters that read, "ALL I NEED IS SUVO NESO AND RAKIJA." It's a Serbian slogan that loosely translates to, "All I need is dry meat and a local brandy."

Doncic will get the chance for plenty of rest and relaxation, much sooner than anticipated, after the Mavs plummeted to 11th in the West and assured that their season will end Easter Sunday.

Doncic showered and changed into sweats at halftime Friday, watching from the bench as his teammates blew a 13-point lead to the Bulls in the last two quarters. He seemed loose and relaxed as the Mavs' fate was sealed, covering his mouth and laughing before the game's final possession, when Dallas' pair of two-way players McKinley Wright IV and A.J. Lawson attempted three potential game-tying 3-pointers, none of which drew iron.

As the Mavs' disappointing season essentially came to an end, Doncic appeared relieved. A member of the Mavs' staff who knows Doncic well nodded when this observation was shared with him and said, "Good eyes."

 

Cuban catching a lot of criticism...  Mavs needs a better Head Coach.

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