As recently as February 2023, Dallas Mavericks fans were beginning to worry whether Luka Dončić would grow impatient with the lack of help he received from the front office.
Dončić had just finished a run to the Western Conference Finals, where he was a one-man offensive show reminiscent of LeBron James ‘ many Herculean playoff efforts.
He and his Mavericks were outclassed by the Golden State Warriors in five games after Dončić’s heroics weren’t enough to carry an overmatched postseason roster for the third straight year.
To make things worse, Dallas botched the Jalen Brunson contract situation, and the former Maverick became a superstar for the New York Knicks .
General Manager Nico Harrison addressed these concerns by trading for Kyrie Irving , whose first season as a Mav didn’t work out well, as the team missed the playoffs entirely.
Fortunately, Irving, Dončić and a tough group of Mavericks assembled by Harrison broke through to the NBA Finals in 2023-24.
Although it may seem like it, that finals birth is far from a guarantee that Dončić will stick around long-term in Dallas.
The 2023-24 season was a great success for Dallas, and the team deserves credit for its stunning run to the NBA Finals.
They beat two excellent teams on their way there, and Dončić and Irving were spectacular to watch on the journey. Harrison did an incredible job building the roster around his two stars, filling in all the gaps with defensive-minded, quality role players who transformed the Mavericks’ previously soft identity overnight.
Dončić desperately needs to improve on that end, but part of his struggles was because of his lack of energy left after carrying Dallas offensively.
Dončić needs to get in better shape, and he shoulders some responsibility for their loss, but he had to take on such a significant offensive burden that it is hard to blame him.
The Mavericks simply don’t have enough good players on either end to match a group like Boston.
In their NBA Finals drubbing, Dallas learned that it needed to improve two aspects of the team to get to the level of a franchise such as Boston.
First, the Mavericks must get more reliable off-ball scorers than Derrick Jones Jr. and P.J. Washington after the Celtics left Dallas’ wings wide open for above-the-break threes, which they struggled mightily on.
If Dončić and Irving can’t be confident in their secondary scoring options, opponents can load up the strong side of the floor to help and force those guys to beat them. We saw this throughout the finals, as the star duo had little space to work with, even when they were able to beat All-NBA defenders like Derrick White or Jrue Holiday off the dribble.
Second, the Mavericks must address the weakness of their defense at the point-of-attack with a backcourt consisting of a mediocre defender in Irving and an atrocious one in Dončić.
Having two exploitable on-ball defenders on the court at all times will never work against elite all-around offenses like the Celtics, who simply don’t have a liability.
Unfortunately, while adding Klay Thompson will be a massive help with the first issue of spacing and spot-up shooting, it will cause Dallas’ defense to decline even further.
Assuming Thompson takes the starting forward spot from the departed Jones Jr., the Mavs will now have three on-ball liabilities for opponents to attack.
Any team with four or five threats offensively will pick apart the Mavericks; this includes the Nuggets, Thunder, Knicks, 76ers and others.
In today’s NBA, star players making it known they want to play elsewhere is accepted practice, and requesting a trade isn’t even out of the ordinary. Dončić is not just any star, either; he is a consensus top-three guy in basketball and arguably the best offensive player in the league.
His wishes will command respect from the Mavericks organization, especially after all he’s given them.
Dončić has three years left on his deal, with the third being a player option. Essentially, the Mavericks have two years left to convince him that his best chance to win a championship is in Dallas, but the pressure will begin building as early as this year.
If Harrison doesn’t improve the roster in a meaningful way and Dallas is stuck in the middle of a crowded Western Conference, the rumors will start to swirl.
We have seen plenty of regular stars demand to be traded and get their way, such as Bradley Beal , Donovan Mitchell , James Harden and many more. Superstars of Dončić’s level usually don’t have to do this, but Kevin Durant did just as recently as last year.
Furthermore, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid have made noise about wanting a new home before their front office placated them with star acquisitions. We also know that big names will leave their hometown teams in free agency as James and Durant did.
