Mavericks' biggest 'regret' this season rests squarely on Nico Harrison's shoulders

The Dallas Mavericks fired former general manager Nico Harrison last week. Even with being fired, Harrison is to be blamed yet again for the poor start of this season that they've had due to one position being an utter failure.

Earlier today, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley wrote an article titled "Every NBA Team's Biggest Offseason Regret After 1 Month." For the Mavericks, Buckley named neglecting the point guard position as the team's biggest offseason regret, and he hit the nail on the head.

Point guard play has been a major concern all season so far for Dallas. Once again, this falls on Harrison's shoulders with how he handled it this offseason and bet on their defense being able to make up for their lack of playmaking.

Point guard has become the Mavericks' Achilles heel

Buckley mentioned that when the Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers, they entered an intense win-now phase without having a then-25-year-old superstar in Luka Doncic as their centerpiece. However, a critical question was asked by Buckley in his article, and it's an extremely valid one when observing their failed roster construction.

"Why didn't they bother to include a point guard replacement as part of that plan?"

In March, the Mavericks suffered a major loss when Kyrie Irving tore his ACL. With Irving out for a while to start this season, point guard depth was deeply needed for Harrison to acquire in the summer. The Mavericks responded to this need by signing D'Angelo Russell and also adding Ryan Nemhard as an undrafted free agent. These were the only external moves that they made to fill the biggest hole on the roster.

Since signing Russell, the point guard play in Dallas has been rough. Russell hasn't been a consistent starter like he used to be, and Jason Kidd is already favoring Brandon Williams in the rotation. Along with mainly playing off the bench, Russell has averaged under 12 points per game and shot 38 percent from the field. For Nembhard, he's averaged under four points per game in under 10 minutes per game, but is out right now due to a knee sprain. Neither Russell nor Nembhard has produced enough offense that Irving would provide if healthy, and their need for another shot creator is evident.

There's another point guard, along with Russell, who has been a major offseason mistake from Harrison. That is bringing back Dante Exum. This offseason, Exum was re-signed by the Mavericks, but he hasn't played all year due to a knee injury. With Exum not playing all year, it makes the decision to bring him back look worse. Dallas knew that Exum had a bad history with injuries, but they rolled the dice. This has already blown up in their face.

As a result of the point guard issue, Cooper Flagg had to play out of position at the one to begin the season. However, Flagg is now playing on the wing and looks excellent as of late.

Buckley described the Mavericks' current situation as a mess. The point guard play is a big reason why, as they don't have someone who can set the table for others.

"This offense is less efficient than everyone other than the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers," Buckley said. "So much for winning now."

The Mavericks are rumored to be exploring trade options around Davis. If the Mavericks do trade Davis, a point guard acquired back in the trade may be the top thing they should look to receive.

Adding a point guard at the deadline will help reverse their inexcusable offseason neglect of their hole in the backcourt, and maybe it will result in a few more games in the win column.