DALLAS — The NBA Cup winners have not yet been crowned and we’re only a quarter of the way through a fresh season, but the Dallas Mavericks are showing that their NBA Finals run from the spring was no fluke.
Instead, running it back has been a part of the meticulous culture change instilled over the last few years by president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, and the effort is clearly bearing fruit.
In a surprising move, former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban named Harrison – at the time, a Nike exec – general manager of the Mavs in June of 2021, to replace Donn Nelson, who had stewarded the front office since 2004. Along with Harrison, former Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd also came aboard to replace Rick Carlisle, the only coach who had won a championship in Dallas.
Despite early questions about their merit, the tandem had some immediate success, concluding their first season by losing to eventual NBA Champion Golden State in the Western Conference Finals. The excitement from seeing Luka Doncic in his first long playoff run did not carry over to the next year, however, in what would become both a lost season and a turning point for Dallas.
Underrated homegrown Doncic running mate Jalen Brunson was allowed to leave for New York, where he has become a star in the Eastern Conference. Without a solid secondary option for Doncic, the 2022-23 Mavs finished their year at 38-44, 11th in the Western Conference, as they missed the playoffs entirely despite the league expanding the playoffs to include the play-in tournament.
While sinking to that low, Dallas was also fined by the league for not putting their best lineups on the court in the season’s final days.
The immediate gratification for the new Dallas front office in its first year did provide some goodwill for their swing-and-miss sophomore season, but tanking is still a taboo and the perception of the Mavericks was damaged by their decision to not fight and claw for one of the West’s final playoff spots.
Ultimately how Harrison and company responded to their tumultuous second year would be judged more closely. The first order of business was drafting Dereck Lively II as the payoff for their unpleasant decision to tank. Thanks to their unfortunate season, Dallas found the young franchise center that they had been seeking.
Current rotation stalwarts from the beginning of the Harrison/Kidd era are few outside of Doncic. Kyrie Irving arrived at the 2023 trade deadline in what was presented as a mea culpa for Brunson’s departure. Instead, the first half season of the Kyrie and Luka show ended in tanking, and only cast doubts on their ability to mesh together.
Spencer Dinwiddie was who Dallas offloaded for Irving, at the time Doncic’s other co-star for their first Western Conference finals run. Dinwiddie returned this offseason as a trusted three-point threat. Guard Jaden Hardy’s rookie year came in ‘22-’23, and he has shown enough flash to become a key piece in the ensuing seasons. Otherwise, the rotation has been entirely remade.
Some inspired moves include Dallas turning Richaun Holmes into Daniel Gafford and Grant Williams into P.J. Washington, two trades that fed their playoff run last season while setting up a new core through 2026. Gafford and Lively combine for arguably the league’s best center tandem, while Washington has brought shot creation and a hometown toughness that has endeared the forward to the area quickly.
Irving, meanwhile, re-upped with Dallas following his first half-season and became a revelation despite his new contract being looked at skeptically initially. Against all odds, Irving has turned into arguably the Mavs’ team leader, returning to the All-World play that saw him become one of the best guards of the 2010s while bringing incredible chemistry to the roster.
The trip to the Finals in 2023 was bolstered with their signing of Derrick Jones Jr., a signing originally looked at as depth before the veteran played his way into a key role. When Jones parlayed his season into a nice new contract with the L.A. Clippers, Dallas pounced on a combination of Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall as small forward replacements.
Establishing himself in New Orleans before arriving with the Mavs, Marshall brought the reputation of being a gritty defender, a necessity for playing with the Dallas backcourt. Marshall’s play is an ode to grinding out of the G-league, and he has blossomed into the role while providing a scoring punch, more than filling in for Jones' departure.
The addition of Thompson cannot be overstated for his championship acumen alone. Adding a co-architect of the defining team of the 2010s showed how leveled up this iteration of the Mavericks is expected to be, with the times of sections of the Mavs bench being largely unplayable seemingly gone.
Dinwiddie is back as a clutch shooter, while minutes given to Hardy and Quentin Grimes have proven to be quality and not just resting star players. Grimes appears to be another win for Harrison as he was brought in from a trade that sent Tim Hardaway Jr. and his expensive deal to Detroit. In four games without Doncic in the lineup recently, Grimes averaged 15.6 points per contest and has three consecutive games of 20 or more points including 28 in a win at Portland in Doncic’s return.
Even bench holdovers such as Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Markieff Morris have established roles in the locker room while still contributing as part of the depth.
Prior to Harrison and Kidd’s arrival, Dallas hadn’t won a playoff series since their NBA Championship in 2011. They broke that streak in their first season and also won three last season while seemingly building an even better roster to try again.
Look no further than Doncic’s recent injury situation. In previous seasons, the absence would have devastated their chances without a herculean effort from Doncic attempting to drag a less talented team to victories while playing hurt.
Now built for depth, the team has been able to stand on its own even while missing their MVP candidate. Dallas went 4-8 in games without Doncic last season. So far this year, they’re 5-1. It’s a scary sight for the rest of the league when the Mavericks don’t need Doncic to be Superman to win. At the very least, it’s a far cry from tanking.
What are your impressions on the job that Harrison and the Mavericks’ front office have done building the roster? Share your thoughts with Irvin on X (formerly Twitter) @Twittirv.
