3 Dallas Mavericks who won't be back after crushing NBA Finals defeat

For most of this regular season, the Dallas Mavericks didn't look like a Western Conference juggernaut. But they picked up some key pieces at the trade deadline, got massive playoff performances from Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the newcomers and steamrolled some of the best opponents in the league on their way to the NBA Finals.

The Mavs beat the No. 4 seed Clippers, the No. 1 seed Thunder and the No. 2 seed Timberwolves, dropping just five games in the first three rounds. But, unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by the depth and talent of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Boston won this title two years after their own loss in the NBA Finals and used the intervening years to upgrade their roster, adding Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, both of whom played huge roles in key moments of the postseason. That's the challenge now for the Mavs, finding the players who can help put this roster over the top. But the first step is clearing out some roster spots and moving on from some of the players who helped get them this far.

3. Markieff Morris will be moving on

Morris was a last-minute addition to the Mavericks roster, signing on Sept. 16, just before training camps opened. He made sense as an experienced and mildly versatile big man, a kind of break-in-case-of-emergency veteran presence at the end of the bench.

Morris played just 26 regular season games and didn't play a single meaningful minute in the postseason. Dallas clearly liked him enough to bring him back after he played eight games for them at the end of the 2022-23 season. But his contract is expiring and they can make better use of this roster spot going into next year, even if they're holding it for an experienced veteran.

2. Maxi Kleber is trade bait

Kleber has become something of a fan favorite over seven seasons and more than 400 games with the Dallas Mavericks. He's an experienced big body who is comfortable banging in the paint or stepping out and spacing the floor from the 3-point line.

But his role shrunk with the Mavs this season with the emergence of Dereck Lively II and the trade deadline additions of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. He played just 43 games in the regular season and while he had some moments in the postseason — hitting 10-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first round against the Clippers, averaging just over 20 minutes per game — a shoulder injury hampered him after that and he was mostly invisible against the Timberwolves and Celtics.

Kleber is under contract for two more years at $11 million and could still be a useful rotation piece for the Mavericks. But because of his salary, he'll also be a key piece in any hypothetical trade package Dallas builds to try and trade for another star or clear salary to sign one. Packaging Kleber with the next player on this list and a draft asset or two is really the only mechanism the Mavs have for adding a big-name player.

1. The Tim Hardaway Jr. era is over

Hardaway Jr. has played over 350 games for the Mavs and he's the Mavs second-leading scorer over the six years since Luka Doncic debuted. But it's no surprise that the Mavs have surged as his role has shrunk over the years. For the beginning of his Mavs tenure, he was miscast as a second- or even third-fiddle to Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis or Jalen Brunson. But he's a good, not great, 3-point shooter who doesn't offer a whole lot else on offense.

Hardaway Jr. averaged 14.4 points per game this season but shot just 40.2 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. He's been moved out of the starting lineup and even with the second unit, he's not someone who should be creating much offense on his own.

Like Kleber, he's under contract for one more year, at a hefty $16 million. But he has value to other teams and packaging him and Kleber gives Dallas the foundation of a trade offer that could get them something better without really taking anything else off the table. For example, Hardaway Jr., Kleber and a future first-round pick might be enough to get them something like Jonathan Isaac and Mo Wagner from the Magic.

To be clear, Hardaway Jr. and Kleber are useful, longtime Mavs who were reasonably productive in their roles. But those roles are also ready to be taken over by younger and better players and trading them might be the Mavs' best path forward.