Mavericks need to clean their mess to salvage season

The Dallas Mavericks are in need of figuring things out as the season draws to a close.

Feb 13, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd reacts during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks have two months left in their season as they try to navigate the craziness that February has brought.

The Luka Doncic trade has had long ramifications, and injuries to Dereck Lively II, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford have ripped up the team's frontcourt.

Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley describes the Mavs as a "self-made mess."

READ MORE: How did Mavericks star Kyrie Irving perform in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game?

Feb 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots a free throw against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mavs may be too messy

"When the Mavs made a push into last season's NBA Finals, it felt like the first of many championship cracks they'd get during the prime years of Luka Dončić. Less than 12 months later, the franchise face was gone," Buckley writes.

"Dallas' front office is free to handle its roster how it sees fit, and maybe its concerns with committing supermax-money to Dončić could prove prescient down the line. None of that changes the fact the Mavs moved a 25-year-old on a first-ballot, Hall-of-Fame track for an oft-injured 31-year-old Anthony Davis, a three-and-D role player in Max Christie and a single first-round pick.

"That's bad business. Setting aside the public relations disaster that has already become, Dallas simply didn't get nearly enough value for such a coveted trade asset. Multiple teams could've obliterated what the Mavs took back in return. To not even consider those options and instead commit to a win-right-now roster that isn't the league's best is baffling, and that's being polite."

The Mavs can't change the trade or any of what has transpired over the past few weeks, but they can control the future, and the best way to silence the haters criticizing Dallas is to win. That job now falls on a roster facing a lot of adversity to get it done.

READ MORE: Ex-Maverick Jalen Brunson calls Luka Doncic-Lakers trade a 'head-scratcher'

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