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The Dallas Mavericks have been on an astonishing run of bad luck since trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of February’s deadline. Anthony Davis picked up an adductor strain after playing just 31 minutes for the team in his very first game since being traded to Dallas. Then came an injury to Daniel Gafford, who joined fellow big men Davis and Dereck Lively II on the sideline. PJ Washington has been in an out of the lineup with an ankle injury, as well as several other role players. The devastating blow came when Kyrie Irving tore his ACL earlier this month, putting his status for next season in serious doubt as well as sidelining him for the rest of this season.
Over the past several weeks, the Mavericks have been operating with a skeleton roster, routinely running with just eight guys — the league minimum to play. It hasn’t been easy, and the losses have been piling up. Dallas is 33-36 on the season, but has just a 2-8 record over its last 10 games. With just 13 games left, there isn’t much left to play for if you’re the Mavericks, who despite holding the final play-in spot in the West, are likely more intrigued with the lottery odds than making any sort of miracle run in the postseason.
The best course going forward would be for the Mavericks to tank the rest of the season with hopes of jumping up higher in the lottery. That means shutting down the guys who are already hurt and prioritizing the draft. However, Dallas is facing a difficult decision as Davis nears a return.
The Mavericks announced Monday morning that Davis had briefly been assigned to the G League Texas Legends as he ramps up for a potential return. Davis only spent time with the G League club to practice and was recalled later by the Mavs later in the day. If that news came a month ago it would be an exciting jolt that could shake up the playoff picture. But with Irving out for the season, and a laundry list of other guys still injured, there’s not much reason for Davis to make a return this season.
Davis is “very eager” to return before the end of the season, per Marc Stein, and it appears as though he’s trending in that direction. But the risk is far greater than the reward for Davis and the Mavericks right now. Stein is reporting that there is concern about Davis re-aggravating his injury, which could cause a setback for the start of next season, and if that happens, the Mavericks’ outlook for next year will be even more bleak than it already is with Irving expected to miss a significant amount of time. With Davis’ injury history, it would be wise for the Mavericks to step in here and advise him that, as much as he wants to play, it may not be in the best interest of the team’s bigger picture going forward.
We’ll see if the Mavericks take that approach, because we already know that general manager Nico Harrison makes decisions without the future in mind. But bringing Davis back when he’s not fully healthy will further strain what’s been a tense situation in Dallas among the front office and its fanbase.
For what it’s worth, Davis was phenomenal in the short stint he played in a Mavericks jersey. He was the dominant two-way player we’ve come to expect, putting up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in less than a full game. There’s no doubt that when healthy, Davis is one of the best players in the league. But given the context of the situation in Dallas, it may be best to punt on the rest of the season and come back next season with — hopefully — a healthier and more competitive roster around Davis to compete.
