The Dallas Mavericks, now post trade deadline and resting over the all-star break, are fully in a new era. Yes, parts of the Luka Doncic core remain. But the Anthony Davis deadline deal that sent the big man and the end of the bench to the Washington Wizards made clear that the front office is turning the page and building for Cooper Flagg\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
That means a focus on Flagg\u2019s development in game, but it also means a lot of losing the rest of this season to position themselves for the NBA draft lottery. That shift in strategy does mean we\u2019ll be hanging our Power Rankings Watch jersey for the rest of this season, as the Mavericks float around the bottom of these standings the rest of the way. We\u2019ll keep check on some other standings from here on out, and get excited for this summer\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n
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Rank: 24Last week: 22<\/p>\n
Marvin Bagley III<\/a>, who was selected right before\u00a0Luka Doncic<\/a>\u00a0with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, is on his fifth team after arriving in Dallas as part of the\u00a0Anthony Davis<\/a>\u00a0trade. He will have a chance to get minutes the rest of the season in Dallas, and in his debut with the Mavericks, Bagley had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.\u00a0\u2014 MacMahon<\/p>\n Rank: 24 (Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear)Last week: 23<\/p>\n Roster reset:\u00a0SF Khris Middleton<\/p>\n I thought I was done cracking on these dudes for trading Luka Don\u010di\u0107 to the Lakers. But no, let me revisit that thing one more time. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 played 900 minutes in the 2024 postseason, a run that went through the NBA Finals. They then traded Don\u010di\u0107 for Anthony Davis, who wound up playing a total of 892 minutes in the regular season for the Mavericks. Then, to make things funnier, the best players Dallas got back when it traded Davis away are former Jason Kidd disciple Middleton and Marvin Bagley III. That\u2019s the same Bagley who was drafted one spot over Don\u010di\u0107 in 2018. At least Dallas got a couple of first-round picks this time. Cooper Flagg has been killing it, but the Mavericks haven\u2019t won a game in more than two weeks.<\/p>\n Rank: 22Last week: 22<\/p>\n The Anthony Davis Era in Dallas\u00a0is over<\/a>, with the big man having played just 31 (36%) of a possible 86 games with the Mavs. Dallas went 17-14 in those 31 games and took a huge step backward when you combine the two Davis trades (the one that brought him in and the one that sent him out).<\/p>\n Three takeaways<\/p>\n In between the two Davis trades, the Mavs did get Cooper Flagg, who had\u00a0four straight games<\/a>\u00a0of more than 30 points before having a relatively quiet night in San Antonio on Saturday. Now averaging\u00a0over 20 per game<\/a>, he\u2019d be just the second rookie in the last 46 years (since Larry Bird in 1979-80) to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. The other, of course, was Luka Don\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n Despite Flagg\u2019s scoring streak, the Mavs have scored just\u00a0109.6 points per 100 possessions<\/a>\u00a0over their seven-game losing streak. Their shooters \u2013 Max Christie and Klay Thompson \u2013 have combined to shoot just 38% (including 32% from 3-point range) over the seven games.<\/p>\n The Mavs got a pair of first-round picks in the Davis trade, but they\u2019ll both be in the 20s. As is usually the case after a team trades a star, its best asset is its own pick. The Mavs are now seventh in the upside-down standings and their 2026 pick is the only one in the next five years that they control.<\/p>\n Coming up:\u00a0The Mavs\u2019 loss in San Antonio on Saturday was the start of a stretch (spanning the break) of six straight road games. They\u2019re now 5-14 (with five straight losses) against the top eight teams in the West, set to visit the Suns and Lakers this week.<\/p>\n Rank: 23Last week: 22<\/p>\n