Delayed responses cost the Mavericks valuable trade opportunities, leaving them with diminished returns and stalled roster progression.
The Mavericks’ season is going to be remembered for more than just what happened on the court. There was a clear disconnect between where the team stood and how long it took to respond, and that defined the team for a while.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, he outlines what he thinks should be every NBA team's biggest regret this season. For the Mavs, it's pretty obvious, and it is holding on to Nico Harrison too long.
But Hughes also adds in Anthony Davis as someone that they should have parted ways with sooner.
"By waiting to ditch Harrison, the Mavs paused the clock on a Davis trade long enough to allow him to get hurt and ultimately tank his value," Hughes writes. "All Dallas got for AD was bad money, the No. 30 pick in this year's draft, an outside shot at another late first-rounder from the Warriors in 2030 and some seconds. Imagine what the return could have been if Davis had been on the market last summer."
Harrison was already under heavy scrutiny after the Luka Dončić situation. That alone made it difficult to move forward with any real clarity. Instead of resetting, Dallas stayed in that space, and it dragged out a situation that needed urgency. The longer things stayed the same, the fewer options the Mavericks had to meaningfully shift direction.
That’s where things really slipped.
Anthony Davis still carried significant value during that stretch. Regardless of long-term fit, there was a clear opportunity to reshape the roster while his market remained strong. Teams around the league would have had real interest in a player of his caliber, especially before injuries entered the picture again. But as time passed, that window tightened, and the leverage Dallas once had started to disappear.
And this is why the criticism lands as firmly as it does. The path forward wasn’t difficult to identify. Moving on from Harrison earlier would have allowed a fresh voice to step in without ties to prior moves and take a clearer, more objective look at the roster. That shift alone could have accelerated everything, including a potential Davis trade at a time when his value was still intact.
This isn’t just about one player or one transaction. It’s about how long the Mavericks stayed in a holding pattern while the rest of the league kept moving. By the time Dallas adjusted, the opportunity had already passed, and the outcome reflected it.