Saying goodbye to the undercover is just the first step? It is also urgent for the Lone Ranger to bid farewell to the thick eyebrows

The Luka Doncic deal is a foregone conclusion and cannot be undone. Firing general manager Nico Harrison is the inevitable first step. This move also prevents Harrison from signing a contract extension with Anthony Davis next summer, which is considered to be a bomb defused in advance.

However, the real difficulty begins now. The team's record of 3 wins and 8 losses at the beginning of the season shows that the Mavericks must find a way to get out of the quagmire.

The team is in trouble for several reasons: Kyrie Irving continues to be absent due to a torn cruciate ligament, resulting in the team lacking a reliable initiator of the ball-handling offense; there are also problems with the team-building ideas, and it seems that they are still living in the illusion brought about by the Doncic trade - they both believe that Davis is the fourth position instead of the fifth position, and they also have the illusion that he is qualified for the main ball-handling and creation task. In addition, the operation of other positions in the lineup is hardly successful: the transaction of Grimes in exchange for a bunch of useless assets was almost as failed as the Doncic transaction; and Klay Thompson will take away 34 million US dollars this season and next season, but his on-field performance is almost a marginal player.

There is also a glimmer of hope in the predicament: the Mavericks control their own draft rights in 2026, but the draft rights from 2027 to 2030 are no longer in their hands. Redeeming these picks is extremely complicated because they are scattered among four different teams: the 2027 first-round pick (the first two picks are protected) belongs to Charlotte, swaps with the Thunder in 2028, belongs to the Nets or Rockets in 2029, and swaps with the Spurs or Timberwolves in 2030. It is worth mentioning that as part of the Doncic deal, the Mavericks hold the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick.

Nevertheless, the turning point for the Lone Ranger is clearly visible. Many teams rely on bad players to compete for the No. 1 pick, but the Mavericks have succeeded - they used the No. 1 pick in June's draft to pick forward Cooper Flagg. There is another young core on the team, 22-year-old center Derrick Lively II. Following this trend, they are expected to receive another high pick in the talented 2026 draft. It would be ideal to exchange the 2027 draft picks from the Hornets, but even without the 2027-2030 lottery picks, the existing assets are enough to start a rapid reconstruction and finally establish a lineup with Flagg as the core.

On the court, some obvious adjustments are being made, and head coach Jason Kidd obviously realizes that certain styles of play are not working. Returning Davis to his true center position rather than sharing the floor with other big men would help improve the offensive spacing; ensuring that one of D'Angelo Russell or Brandon Williams is always on the court would also relieve Flagg from being forced to handle too much ball-handling duties against tight interior defenses. The recent decision to move Thompson out of the starting lineup is also to improve mobility and athleticism on the court.

However, after the era of "defense wins championships" has been completely overturned, the Mavericks management is facing some major choices related to the fate of the team.

The first task is undoubtedly to comprehensively explore the Anthony Davis trading market. Davis is 32 years old and has a history of injuries, so the best time to trade is fleeting. Here's a key point: Whether Davis is willing to serve as center for his next team will directly determine his trade value. If he is allowed to continue to think of himself as a "space-based fourth position", he will be addicted to inefficient singles and mid-range shots and become an offensive end point. To make matters worse, he may be the player in the league who goes down the most frequently trying to create his own shot, often resulting in a passive four-on-five defensive situation.

But if you let him serve as center, the situation is completely different. Davis needs assists from his teammates to score efficiently, and once he "eats the pie," his level is top-notch. Get him the ball on the move and he can be a huge threat. He is the league's top pass-down finisher. He can easily get rid of the opponent's inside line during fast breaks, and his mobility is enough to handle switching tasks in pick-and-roll defense. When playing center, his shooting weakness is no longer prominent, because there are four shooters around him to open up space, and the opponent's center often does not dare to rush to the outside easily. The best proof of all this is the central role he played at critical moments in the Lakers' 2020 championship journey.

Davis is currently out due to a calf strain, and teams naturally hope to see him return healthy before evaluating the deal. But it shouldn't be difficult for the Mavericks to trade Davis in exchange for a group of draft picks and/or young players and match the salary. The timing is also right from a contract perspective: He is under contract after next season, has a player option for 2027 after that, and is eligible for an extension next summer.

The next step is to trade Irving, but there is no need to rush. At this stage, the most important message for the Mavericks to convey to the 33-year-old veteran is: "Please rest assured to recuperate and don't rush to come back." The team may have difficulty making progress this season, and potential next owners need to see a healthy and online Irving before they are willing to pay considerable assets. It would be great if he could come back before the trade deadline, but it is more realistic to do this again this summer. His contract runs through 2027, with a player option for the 2027-28 season.

Considering the team's struggling performance, reducing the total salary below the luxury tax line is almost destined to be another goal of the Mavericks. Giving away Davis' $54.1 million contract would be a key step (the team is currently $16.9 million over tax), but Dallas will likely need to get back nearly the same amount of salary in a trade. Therefore, it may be necessary to tie up with contracts such as Thompson (16.7 million), Dwight Powell (4 million), Jaden Hardy (the contract with an annual salary of 6 million has just been executed in the first year) or Caleb Martin (30 million remaining three years!), and it may even be necessary to bring in a third-party team to complete the Davis deal.

As far as trading targets are concerned, a major focus of the Mavericks should be to try to use the picks or players acquired in the Davis trade as bargaining chips to exchange for the 2027 draft picks from the Hornets, thereby taking control of their own initiative in the future.. This would at least open a two-year window for a substantial rebuild around Flagg and Lively. At the same time, this is also consistent with the salary plan in the "post-Davis-post-Irving" era. The team will release huge salary space in the summer of 2027. Of course, acquiring more draft picks and quality young players is crucial no matter what.

The Mavericks may also listen to offers for Daniel Gafford, Najee Marshall and P.J. Washington, but these three are only 27 years old and their contracts are reasonably cost-effective. In a system that no longer needs to accommodate Davis, they can return to a familiar position and their performance may improve a lot. Moreover, if the draft picks cannot be exchanged from the Hornets and the team is completely ruined, the Mavericks will still need some reliable veterans to support the team next season.

Once again, the Mavericks have won the most critical battle - winning the No. 1 pick. Now, what they need to do is to completely shift the focus of team building to Flagg's future instead of continuing to be obsessed with Davis' present.

(Text/Kong Yang)