The Dallas Mavericks look like a franchise that has finally hit its limit. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the talk inside the organization is far more serious than the public realizes. Mark Cuban, who had been pushed out of basketball decisions by Nico Harrison, is reportedly ‘back at the table.’
The new front office is reportedly getting ready to completely tear down the roster and rebuild again. Just nine months after trading Luka Doncic, Dallas seems ready to hit the reset button.
This is the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade finally catching up. When they traded a 25-year-old generational superstar to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one future first-round pick, it was projected as a win-now move.
Instead, it has turned into the worst trade in NBA history already. Team governor Patrick Dumont recently told a fan courtside that he feels terrible about the decision, and firing Harrison was only the first step in trying to clean up the mess.
Anthony Davis was supposed to be the pillar of this era of the Mavericks’ basketball. But his old injury concerns have returned. He has already missed seven games this season with a calf injury. And the Mavericks are 3-9, sitting at 14th in the West. The front office is reportedly looking to keep AD for a while, but the noise just keeps getting louder.
John Wall lit up a new rumor claiming that Davis wants to go back to his hometown, Chicago. And there are several contenders that are expected to be highly interested if Davis is put on the market.
Klay Thompson’s situation is another problem for Dallas. He turned down eighty million dollars from the Lakers to join Luka and Kyrie Irving. Nine months later, Luka is gone, Kyrie is still recovering from ACL surgery, and Thompson is stuck in one of the worst slumps of his career. If this becomes a full rebuild, Klay’s time in Dallas could be short.
And it doesn’t stop there. Daniel Gafford is on a contract many teams consider valuable, and the Lakers have already been linked to him again. D’Angelo Russell hasn’t stabilized the offense and is seen as a potential rental for teams needing cap relief. P.J. Washington could bring back picks.
The bigger problem is what Dallas no longer has in their arsenal.
They have only one first-round pick left over the next five years. Now they’re trying to rebuild without their star and without the assets they once used to support him.
That’s why everything now revolves around Cooper Flagg. The rookie has shown flashes of the player that he is touted to become. Even if he is in one of the most chaotic situations ever seen. The Mavericks are expected to rebuild around him, but that will take tearning down almost everything else.
This isn’t a retool. It’s a reset. And based on the conversations happening internally, the teardown isn’t a rumor. It has already started.
