With January in the books as the best month of the Mavs’ season, February rolled in and was anything but. Dallas continued to stick around in a lot of games, often keeping things close before coming up short. A generally abysmal record and some bad (but obvious) news were the call for the month, but the Mavericks also made an unexpected move to change the entire dynamic of their future.
February Record: 2-8 (21-38 overall)
The only saving grace for the Mavericks in February was that it is the shortest month on the calendar. Dallas lost
six straight games to open the month, as part of a 10-game losing streak dating back to the end of January. At this point, the feeling amongst the fanbase seemingly shifted to “tank mode.” Gone were the hopes of a PlayIn bid, replaced by the notion that losing for a better draft pick was much more appealing. The Mavs managed back-to-back wins over two of the limited squads that were performing worse than Dallas, the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets, before dropping their last two to close out the month.
Anthony Davis is traded to the Wizards
On February 4, and in typical Mavs’ fashion where virtually no one saw it coming, Anthony Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards. There were a few rumors here and there, mainly about a deal with the Atlanta Hawks that never materialized, but the prevailing thought had become that Davis was staying until at least the off season. The Wizards were certainly not on anyone’s radar. With everyone thinking Davis’ hand injury against the Utah Jazz less than a month prior was going to keep him off the market, Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi did the improbable and got off the contract of Davis, removing another pillar of the ill-fated Luka Doncic trade. Better still, they managed to move DeAngelo Russell who had fallen into Jason Kidd’s doghouse long before, in the deal as well. Also on the way out were Jaden Hardy and the injured Dante Exum. Dallas gave themselves a tremendous amount of financial flexibility going into the offseason, and did it in a single move no one really saw coming.
Marvin Bagley shows out
The return Dallas received in the Davis trade didn’t exactly leap off the page, although it really didn’t need to. Dallas needed to get off of Davis’ contract and also needed to turn the keys over to Cooper Flagg. Khris Middleton was arguably the biggest incoming name, however Marvin Bagley made a strong bid to stick around and perhaps the best piece Dallas got in the deal. In his first game with Dallas, he scored 16 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked four shots in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He came off the bench in all but four of his appearances with the Mavs, but often outplayed started Daniel Gafford in those games. He ended the season having scored 20 or more points in four contests with the Mavs. Bagley may yet have a future in Dallas after having proved to be a very capable back-up and spot starter.
Kyrie Irving announces he is out for the season
Although the announcement was widely expected, on February 18, Kyrie Irving confirmed that he would be out for the remainder of the season. It would have been nice to see Irving get back on the court and to play with Cooper Flagg in a few meaningless games at the end of the season. He could have tested out his recovery quietly when no one was really looking, but instead opted for the safer path and that is fine. Irving added months to his recovery timeline and will be ready for the start of next season with what will surely be a new-look Mavs squad.
With the forgettable games of February in the rearview, Dallas was in a position to finish out the season by taking a look at some of their new players. As much as the season was essentially lost by this point, the Mavs still had plenty to play for as Flagg made his closing arguments for Rookie of the Year honors.
I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.
