To say the Dallas Mavericks' season has been disappointing would be an understatement. The Mavs came into the season with playoff aspirations; some people even thought they could be a dark horse championship team. However, they have an abysmal 3-7 record, which is tied for 14th in the West. To think that less than a year ago, they had a top-five player in Luka Dončić and were just coming off a championship run. Whatever happened there?
Of course, general manager Nico Harrison's job is in jeopardy after this start, and the most universally hated trade in NBA history. In fact, Tim MacMahon noted that the Mavs' firing Nico is a matter of when, not if.
Unfortunately, though, firing Nico won't fix the mess that he's created. Winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes was the Mavs' saving grace. Nevertheless, they are now on the timeline of an 18-year-old, not a 32-year-old Anthony Davis, like Nico claims. The real problem is that outside of this year, the Mavs don't have their picks going forward.
Dallas owes their 2027 pick to Charlotte; their 2027, 2028, and 2030 picks are all owed in pick swaps.
Nico Harrison created a disaster of a team
The Mavs' situation is the worst of both worlds: they can't properly rebuild around Flagg, but with AD's injury history and lack of perimeter creation, they can't compete either. It's almost like they went all in on a championship window, and they traded their star that the window was built around. I guess fortune doesn't really favor the bold, Nico.
The 2026 draft class is loaded, and at this point, the Mavs might have no choice but to bottom out. This is their last chance to add top-end talent around Flagg and have a semblance of a plan going forward. The Mavs have shown a willingness to tank, as they did in 2023. Granted, that was at the end of the season, but still, it wouldn't shock me if they fully tank this season.
This roster isn't built to compete on a real level for the next few years. It's bad enough with their pick now, but what's it going to look like when they don't have their pick?
Nico famously said defense wins championships, but Dallas' lack of perimeter shot creation was always a clear flaw this season, and it's backfired in the worst possible way. Notably, the Mavs rank 29th in offensive rating and are last in made 3-pointers.
Klay Thompson is declining, and the Mavs don't have the playmakers to help him. They started the season playing Flagg out of position at point guard. D'Angelo Russell is their best perimeter creator, which makes them destined to be a terrible team.
Sure, Kyrie Irving could return at some point this season, but you can't just have one high-level creator. Maybe the Mavericks trade Daniel Gafford for a perimeter player, but recent reports suggest that's an unlikely scenario.
With a lack of draft capital and a roster that's not built to compete, the Mavs are in one of the worst situations in the league. That's a crazy statement given that they have the No. 1 pick in Flagg, but it's undoubtedly true.