The Dallas Mavericks once had ambitions of competing for a title in the 2024-25 season. Now, after a flurry of injuries decimated the roster, the situation is looking bleak in Dallas as the threat looms of potentially having to forfeit games.
“The Mavericks have 14 games left. Kessler Edwards: 3 NBA games remaining, Kai Jones: 11 NBA games remaining, Brandon Williams: 6 NBA games remaining,” wrote Keith Smith on X. “Dallas can’t sign another player until April 10 (with two games left) due to their first apron hard cap. This is going to be very interesting to monitor over the final month of the season.”
Fresh off an appearance in the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks began the season with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson leading the way. Together, they had the Mavericks within the top six in the West with ambitions to defend their position as the Western Conference champs.
It was an ordinary season for the Mavericks until things took a turn for the worse this winter. Out of nowhere, the Mavericks elected to trade Luka Doncic and altered the entire timeline of the franchise.
With Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Mavericks were dominant for half of a game before he went down with an adductor strain in his debut. Without Davis or Luka, the Mavericks began to fall hard and they’ve been fighting just to stay in play-in territory.
Next, Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the season after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee. With averages of 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game on 47.3% shooting, Irving was playing elite-level basketball this season and his injury ended any hope of the Mavs making a playoff run this year.
The Mavericks have also lost Dwight Powell, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford. Most recently they lost Dante Exum after suffering a broken bone against the Rockets on Wednesday. The Mavs have tried to keep up with their injuries by signing guys like Kai Jones, Kessler Edwards, and Brandon Williams, but they are not permanent solutions.
With 14 games left on the calendar, the Mavericks may not have enough healthy bodies to complete their schedule. It’s a rare situation in the NBA but we saw it back in 2021 when the Heat failed to meet the required eight-player minimum for a game against the Celtics. The game wasn’t automatically canceled but rather postponed until the Heat had a more complete roster.
In this situation, with only a handful of games left to play in the regular season, the Mavericks may not be able to postpone their games like the Heat could. Regardless, it’s a tough situation for the Mavs and a brutal development from where they were just a few months ago.
To go from Luka Doncic and a “big three” of superstars to Klay Thompson and a bunch of role-players is a rude awakening for Dallas and certainly not where they imagined they’d be at this point in the season.
The good news is, this nightmare is almost over. Once the season concludes in a few more weeks, the Mavericks can start preparing for next season when, hopefully, they’ll be healthy enough to challenge the major players in the West.
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