ESPN gives Mavericks awful grade for season outcome

After a Mavericks season that invoked Murphy's Law of "what can go wrong, will go wrong," Dallas finished in 10th place in the Western Conference, which would be thought of as an anomaly considering that last year's campaign ended in an NBA Finals appearance. Of course, the crux of the season's struggles began with a franchise-devastating trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for an injured Anthony Davis, an obstacle the team has yet to show any sign of truly overcoming.

According to ESPN's Kevin Pelton, who gave all 30 NBA teams grades for their season performances in a recent article, the Mavericks earned a D+ rating, which could have easily been an F had there not been the injury excuse (which could arguably be pinned on GM Nico Harrison as well after he fired a league-renowned training staff and replaced them).

Pelton said, "Ordinarily, there would be more slack for a team that dealt with such pervasive injury issues; the possibility of not having the eight players required to dress for a game back in March was considered. The Mavericks get less slack by virtue of trading their way into this position with midseason deals for Anthony Davis and Caleb Martin, both injured at the time. It's going to take more than a win in the 9-10 play-in game to turn around Dallas' season, and a playoff run seems unlikely without guard Kyrie Irving, who could be fully recovered and return from his torn left ACL by January 2026, according to ESPN's Shams Charania."

Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke once sang, "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts." The saying applies here, as all of the misfortune that befell the embattled organization can be almost entirely directed at the feet of Harrison, whose arrogance and unwillingness to take suggestions have cost a championship-caliber franchise all hope of competing in a stacked Western Conference over the next few seasons (at least).