Nothing more reflects the roller coaster of the last seven months surrounding the Dallas Mavericks, than the murkiness of the team’s future as predicted by media. ESPN’s annual NBA Future Rankings tasks media members to rate various aspects of an organization to project the success of a team over the next three years. This year, the Mavericks rank 16th among the league of 30.
After ranking fifth last summer, a summer that followed an NBA Finals appearance, the precipitous fall is without much mystery.
No team, save for the Los Angeles Clippers the last three weeks, have had more turmoil in the calendar year. The combination of trading Luka Doncic followed by a series of injuries to the leaders of the team, gave little to hang a future hat on. And yet their miraculous draft luck does provide a brighter future.
ESPN looks at five categories to rank teams: Players, Money, Draft, Market, Management. And where the Mavericks land in each bucket really sheds light on where the questions lie.
- Players: 11th
- Money: 24th
- Draft: 21st
- Market: 10th
- Management: 20th
When healthy, the Mavericks do have a solid roster that might be heavy in a position or two and light in a few glaring weaknesses. But overall, they have the pieces to be somewhat successful. But the “when healthy” qualifier could never be louder. Still, with core pieces like PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford already signed to extensions, and depth pieces like Dereck Lively II, Naji Marshall, and Max Christie all under multi-year deals, building around Cooper Flagg is a sturdy path.
Where there is no stability is in the money, draft, and management of this team. They are hard-capped, with little draft capital to leverage, with an erratic front office and ownership team that not only are unpredictable but also feel out-of-touch with their fan base. The drafting of Cooper Flagg saved them in a million ways, but it does not solve every problem. They were given a life raft, but still need someone to steer them back home. Until Nico Harrison, Patrick Dumont, and the remaining decision makers prove they can steady things and navigate out of the financial and emotional predicament they’ve put themselves in, the future of the team will remain in question.
