Anthony Davis is traded. Ownership is in limbo. The future of the franchise hinges on the progression of a 19 year old, but there are still games to play. Other teams, like the Dallas Mavericks, are thinking more about the future than the present.
The Dallas Mavericks traded Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards last week, a headliner story from the busy NBA trade deadline.
As Dallas now begins to adjust to the roster changes with just a couple games remaining until the All-Star break, fans pose to question.
What's next?
Well, in the nation's capital, Washington's additions of former All-Stars Davis and Trae Young figure to be a commitment to winning in the near future ... though both players are experiencing injuries and could sit the remainder of this year. The team's record suggests it's not yet close to contending, plus, one more high draft pick from this loaded class couldn't hurt.
The Wizards are thinking about next year ... while still "getting through" the games they currently play.
Dallas is likely going to follow that rest-of-season outlook, despite the emergence of 19-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg bringing a promising vision that makes patience more difficult to maintain.
Around here, this outlook on losing is called "Organic Tanking", and it's the Mavs' best option for the rest of this season, just as other teams are already demonstrating.
Recently, the Utah Jazz made waves on social media for as deliberate a tank job as you'll read about.
Utah led the Orlando Magic, a solid playoff-bound team that the Jazz have no business beating, by 17 points late in the third quarter on Saturday, a seemingly meaningless February game. The newly-formed trade deadline trio of Jaren Jackson Jr. (formally of Memphis), Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic were terrorizing the Magic.
Until ... they weren't, because they couldn't.
Head coach Will Hardy benched the three starters, along with guard Keyonte George who had sustained an injury. The only starter to play the majority of the fourth quarter was No. 5 overall pick rookie Ace Bailey.
What happened next? The Magic came back and won the game. Seemingly just what Utah had hoped, given the head-scratching in-game management that is so suspicious is seems purposeful.
Like Washington, you can argue Jackson’s midseason addition has 2027 in mind more than Utah’s upcoming slate. At the time of writing, the Wizards and Jazz have two of the top six spots for the best NBA Draft lottery odds.
There are others, too, with Brooklyn routinely deploying the youngest roster in the league, and Indiana grinding through a season of low production as star point guard Tyrese Haliburton sits out with an Achilles tear. The Pacers picked up a new starting center in Ivica Zubac from the LA Clippers, but his talents won't fully get maximized until Haliburton is back at the controls for a full season.
In seventh in the "tankathon" standings? Your Dallas Mavericks.
No splash name players were acquired at the Feb. 5 deadline, but the removal of Davis - who makes over $50 million a year and is requesting an extension - sets the Mavs up for future flexibility to build around Flagg and still keep recovering Kyrie Irving on the roster.
Dallas, too, could benefit from a high first-round draft pick in this deep college class, but in the AD trade, the Mavs re-filled their future capital, somewhat taking pressure off this summer's draft being their last first-rounder for a stretch.
At 19-33 on this losing skid, the Mavs sit 12th in the Western Conference. At this rate, Irving may get sidelined for the rest of the season if the team remains out of playoff contention around the time he would return.
ESPN has picked up on these teams' activities at the deadline, calling the scenarios exactly what they are: "disguised tanking strategies".
But will the league crack down? It's gotten so obvious that there will eventually be something done, right?
"You know what's ironic?" one Western Conference executive asked. "Charlotte trades for [former All-Rookie guard and 18 points-per-game scorer Coby] White hoping to use him right away, and they find out he's actually injured. And you have Utah, Indy and Washington trade for players and find ways to keep them out."
Dallas' acts here don't match exactly with the plans of the others' because of a players' removal being the key. However, the same mission applies across the board; teams are using this season to set themselves up for a more competitive situation in future seasons - regardless of how much losing must be done.
Says ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst: "Needless to say, there's some irritation within the league, even if the flip strategy has some intellectual merit. The topic of these long-range non-competitive maneuvers was raised at a recent NBA competition committee meeting, sources said.
"But any meaningful rules change to address this pathway won't be able to stop it this season."
That works out in perfect timing for the Mavericks, who playing against the 31-22 Phoenix Suns Tuesday night, could stretch their losing streak to eight...
And continue a "disguised" - yet, "organic" - form of tanking through 2026.