By Alex Al-Kazzaz
A 38-44 finish. This is bad for the Dallas Mavericks. At one point, they were in the fourth/feed seed in the Western Conference standings and it soon dropped like a rock. And the Kyrie Irving trade didn't do the team any good. And the worst of it? Irving is likely to leave during free agency. So what's the final verdict of this season for Dallas? Simple; An abject failure.
A 5-11 record for Dallas with Irving and Luka Doncic on the court together. Speaking of Luka, reports insist that there are fears that he will request a trade in the summer of 2024! At this point, can you blame him? The Mavericks are not reaching the status of championship contender and it doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon. Luka may insist that he's perfectly happy, but the Mavericks are NOT doing him any favors. In other words, are they really appreciative of the man? Are they even loyal to him? Sure, they gave him a massive deal that pays well, but as far as results and winning goes? That's the cause for concern.
There were a lot of problems this season for the Mavericks. Inability to play solid defense comes to mind. Thin depth, poor coaching, and bad decisions from the front office. Overall, it's a team effort so it's a team failure. In other words, everyone from coach, player, management, etc. is to take their share of responsibility.
Some are calling for Jason Kidd to be fired, but if he's gone, then who's the man to take over? And what can the team do in free agency to make the necessary adjustments? With too many unanswered questions coming into this off-season, the Mavericks are back to a familiar spot; an unknown and unbright future.