What a season the Mavericks have had. Fresh off a finals run, they began the 2024-25 season with heightened expectations. Then halfway through their campaign, they figured on trading away their foundational piece ostensibly to set themselves up for sustained success. While they contended that they took one step back to move two steps forward, however, just about everybody else branded their deal with the Lakers as the worst in National Basketball Association history. And so pilloried was their move — pushed by general manager Nico Harrison and okayed by owner Patrick Dumont — to send generational talent Luka Doncic packing that their projected recovery was seen to take much, much longer than they believed.
As things turned out, the Mavericks needed a mere three months to get themselves back on track. The other day, they lucked into the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Never mind that they had a mere 1.8% chance of claiming the privilege, and that ridiculous twists of fate had them picking 11th instead of 12th; they would have needed to trade places with the Bulls had the latter won the coin flip, or had Josh Giddey not made an ultra-low-probability halfcourt shot to win against the Lakers in an otherwise meaningless late-March encounter.
And so the Mavericks literally got to win the lottery, and, if nothing else, put themselves in prime position to offset the nine-figure losses they were likely to absorb following Doncic’s departure. After all, Cooper Flagg is not just any top prospect; in the last 20 years, only Doncic, Anthony Davis, and Zion Williamson have had better projections per the draft model of ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. Needless to say, the good fortune was met with incredulity; NBA circles entertained conspiracy theories as if billionaire franchise holders would act against self-interest and simply agree to give the opposition major ammunition.
As narrative-fitting as the thought of the Commissioner’s Office rigging results may be, there is just no way a machine juggling 14 balls can spew four to come up with a favored combination. In any case, what’s done is done, and the Mavericks now truly have reason to view the horizon with optimism. Assuming Davis stays healthy enough and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving’s recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury goes as well as expected, they admittedly have the personnel to contend in the deep, deep West. Not that Harrison and Dumont are off the hook for not getting commensurate return vice Doncic. All the same, fans have cause to smile and, perhaps, move on.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
