With the overnight success of rookie sensation Luka Doncic, the Mavericks briefly entertained thoughts of making a run for the 2018-19 postseason. But, alas, those dreams were short-lived after a series of roster-reshaping moves at the trade deadline.
Dallas traded four-fifths of its starting lineup in deals with the Knicks and Kings that returned All-Star Kristaps Porzingis and freed up about $30 million in salary cap space.
So for the third straight year, the Mavericks find themselves in the NBA lottery. This time around the excitement is muted, however, because odds are Dallas will forfeit its pick to Atlanta per the agreement of its draft-day trade for Doncic.