Things are bleak for the Dallas Mavericks.
The fanbase is heartbroken and battered. Number 77 jerseys scatter the arena like your ex’s old streaming service logins. The media and the collective NBA body were shocked and appalled that Luka Doncic had been traded.
The question we are left to ask ourselves is, “What good can come from this?”
This shouldn’t be in vain. The twenty-nine other teams should use this as a learning experience. There are lessons to be learned here, and teams should be mindful of them.
Lesson 1: Avoid Taking Great Players for Granted
It’s not every day that a franchise is lucky enough to have a player of Luka’s caliber on the roster.
Some teams strive for years to acquire one, whether through free agency, trade, or the draft and come up empty. The Bucks drafted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) in 1969 and would have to wait 44 years before drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2013.
The Nuggets had some fun times with Alex English and Carmelo Anthony, but the latter of which spent his best years playing in Madison Square Garden. It wasn’t until that notorious Taco Bell commercial that Denver possessed a historically great player. Some teams have gone their whole lives without one.
The Mavericks should know that league-altering players come sparingly to everyone but the Lakers. It took them two decades before drafting Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft. He would be the anchor of the franchise throughout his career in Dallas and among the greatest players of his era, culminating in his iconic 2011 title run. Dirk solidified himself as a truly historic figure.
Luka Doncic demonstrated himself as the future of the Mavs. He averaged 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists through 22 playoff games en route to the NBA Finals.
The only comparison to the offensive start of his career is LeBron James.
He is big enough to bruise and bump in the post and the lane, skilled enough to create any shot from the perimeter, and has some of the best vision and playmaking abilities in the league. Defense is his only liability, yet Dallas’ defense in last year’s finals held the historically efficient Boston Celtics to a 109.2 offense rating— the same as last year’s 14-win Pistons.
Who knows the next time Dallas will have another player of Luka’s caliber? They thought that they were getting one in return in Anthony Davis, and that lasted for one quarter of basketball. These players are sparse. Talking heads can quibble about who they are, but only a select group of teams can say they have one. Unquestionably, Dallas was one of those teams, and they no longer are.
For the rest of the teams out there who have a player of Luka’s magnitude (Denver, Milwaukee, OKC, Boston), don’t take them for granted. It might be a while before you find another one.
Lesson 2: Don’t Fix What’s Not Broken
The Dallas Mavericks made the NBA Finals last year.
They added spacing and shooting through Klay Thompson. Luka himself has a proven and menacing playoff résumé. He broke the Timberwolves on one step back, has made a meme from owning Devin Booker and the Suns, and has been the only player to match Jokic’s output in the half-court.
Simply put, we knew he could take them all the way. He did it less than 365 days ago on a bum leg. The Mavericks were not a perfect team, but they won a loaded western conference and had a player who could ensure your championship window was always open.
The numbers don’t lie. In last year’s playoffs, the Mavericks sported a +3.6 point differential, 114.7 points per 100 possessions, and 111.2 points allowed per 100 on the defensive side (higher than the current OKC Thunder). Further, for all the strife over Luka’s defense, the Mavericks ranked fourth in the 2024 playoffs, allowing opponents to just 51.6 effective field goal percentages. These are all above this year’s league averages.
In simpler terms with fewer numbers, Dallas was in a good spot. Last year Mavericks in the playoffs, guided by Luka, made it to the finals with a very balanced attack. They just came up short against a Boston buzzsaw.
Making the finals is hard. It’s even harder when the catalyst for your success is no longer on the team.
Nico Harrison and ownership tried to fix a team that wasn’t broken, and teams should steer clear of attempting the same.
Lesson 3: It Can Get Worse
As much as cheer and optimism are needed for fans of struggling NBA teams, the Mavericks show us that there might not be light at the end of the tunnel. Trading Luka was a catastrophic blow to the fanbase, and the NBA gods have been kicking them while they’re down.
Dallas brought in Anthony Davis to lead the new-look, defense-first Mavs. Proof of concept was there. Davis came out hot in his debut with the Mavs, putting up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in 31 minutes. This glimpse of hope was quickly snuffed out, when Davis left the game in the third quarter with a left adductor strain and hasn’t yet returned.
The haymaker would happen on March 4 against the Kings. Kyrie Irving, after one of his signature weaving drives, would stumble and come up slow. He had torn his left ACL and declared out for the season.
The blows would continue. On March 9, The Dallas Mavericks suited up just seven healthy players against the Phoenix Suns. Coach Jason Kidd would say that he had “never been in a game where we could not take someone out to rest them because we had no one to put in.”
The Dallas Mavericks are currently 33-36 and the 10th seed in the West. Luka is doing Luka things in Crypto Arena alongside LeBron James. The Mavs might make the play-in. The Lakers might compete for a championship. Things are bad in Dallas right now, and other teams should take note. This situation didn’t have to be as bad as it is.
Teams should look at Dallas, ponder these lessons, and think to themselves, “Let’s avoid that.”
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