Dallas’ Broken Chariot.

The Dallas Mavericks have been eliminated from playoff contention just one season after making it to the Western Conference Finals. In an effort to find a co-star for Luka Doncic, the team executed a high risk, high reward trade to acquire star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline window closed. The move shocked the NBA community and raised expectations for the Mavericks, making them the fourth-highest odds to win the NBA Finals due to the fascination of how lethal a Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving duo could be on the court together.

However, since acquiring Kyrie Irving, the team’s overall record was 10-18, with Kyrie Irving appearing in 20 of those 28 games (8-12 record) and only appearing alongside Luka Doncic in 16 of those games (5-11 record). On February 5th, the team was 6th in the West with a 28-26 record. The Dallas Mavericks then crumbled under pressure and shifted down the Western Conference standings before ultimately eliminating themselves from playoff contention, finishing the season 11th in the West with a 38-44 record.

Photo Credit: NBA TV

Many may be quick to blame Kyrie Irving for the Mavs’ struggles since his arrival to Dallas, but if you watched the games, that would not be entirely true. For instance, if you take a look at the plus-minus metric used to explain a player’s impact on the game when they are on the court, Kyrie’s plus-minus was +96 compared to Luka’s -15.

While not placing all the blame on Luka, it is his team, and his +/- shows that he should shoulder some of the blame for the Mavs’ struggles to cap off the season. However, most of the blame should be placed on ownership, management, and coaching. Prior to acquiring Kyrie, the team had little to no defensive prowess on the roster, and they included their best defender in the Kyrie trade. The Kyrie Irving trade should not have been the end-all-be-all. Ownership and management should have looked to add additional pieces to the roster after acquiring Kyrie, especially players who would have helped on the defensive side of the ball but also complemented both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s game. Instead, ownership was content with only adding Kyrie to the roster with the assumption that all of their other problems that have dated back multiple seasons would just disappear.

Since February 5th

Kyrie Irving: 20 GP | 27.0 PTS | 5.0 REB | 6.0 AST

Luka Doncic: 19 GP | 29.9 PTS | 8.1 REB | 7.5 AST

Now what is next for Kyrie? Does he resign with Dallas this offseason, or does he leave elsewhere? Kyrie’s decision may affect Luka Doncic’s future decision to stay. We know Kyrie is heavily interested in reuniting with LeBron James or Kevin Durant, but will the Lakers and/or Suns be interested in his services this offseason?

The prediction is that he will leave the Mavericks high and dry this offseason to reunite with Kevin Durant; replacing an aging Chris Paul and assembling a new trio in Phoenix of himself, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. At the trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns had their eye on Kyrie Irving and were hoping to somehow land both him and Kevin Durant. Before Brooklyn accepted Dallas’ offer for Kyrie Irving, the Suns offered a trade package that included Chris Paul. Thus should Phoenix have an opportunity to add Kyrie this offseason, they will jump at the chance.

As a result, it will put even more pressure on Dallas to significantly improve the roster to convince Luka Doncic to stay. In the end, it won’t be enough to keep their coveted superstar in house, making their biggest fears come true. Luka will either play out his contract and test free agency in 2027 or he will request a trade as early as Summer 2024/2025. Howbeit, should Kyrie stay in Dallas, ownership and management will be tasked with surrounding their dynamic duo with the necessary support to contend for a championship and that begins on the defensive side of the ball because the last thing they need is to shoot at least 60% from the field in a loss again.