Mavericks' hot streak hides a dangerous flaw that demands a trade

Even though the Dallas Mavericks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA after winning five of their last seven games, they have to address their weak shooting on the trade market if they want to make a playoff push.

Dallas is 10-17 and the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, but they are only one game back from securing a spot in the Play-In Tournament. They have already revealed that they want to be competitive rather than tank (for now), meaning that they definitely need to improve their 3-point shooting if they want even a puncher's chance against other playoff teams.

Through 27 games, the Mavericks are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA, and this passes both the number and eye test. They didn't address this area during the offseason, and it's costing them now.

Mavericks must find more 3-point shooting at the trade deadline

Dallas is 27th in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 34.1 and 26th in 3-pointers made per game at 11.6. This is clearly one of their biggest weaknesses, and they can't afford to stand pat in this area if they truly want to emerge as a playoff team in the wild, wild West.

There are no weak playoff teams in the Western Conference, and with how things are looking, the Mavericks would get stuck playing a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, or San Antonio Spurs if they somehow sneak into the playoffs. They have the starpower with Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving (assuming he returns this season) to stand a chance, but they need more shooters around them to make it a fair fight.

Dallas crumbled down the stretch of last season due to their lack of shooting (which was magnified due to their vast amount of injuries), and you have to be able to knock down open shots in the playoffs. Mavs fans know this well, as they lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals thanks to their role players disappearing from beyond the arc. Dallas shot 31.6 percent from long range in that series, and Luka Doncic and Irving were the only two players to average over 1.5 threes per game.

No shooting is a recipe for disaster in today's NBA, and they won't survive if Klay Thompson and Max Christie are their only consistent 3-point shooters. Ryan Nembhard, Christie, and Thompson are the only three regular rotation players on the team who are shooting above 36 percent from three, and they have to find a way to fix this.

The most obvious way would be by making a trade, and Dallas has already been in a handful of rumors so far. They have been listening to offers for Daniel Gafford, Davis, Thompson, and D'Angelo Russell, and moving on from Gafford may be their best bet in acquiring another sharpshooter.

Gafford has been in trade rumors since last season, and he could net the Mavericks a high-quality role player if he can prove that he can stay healthy and go back to being the Gafford of old. His ankle injury has taken a major toll on him this year, and teams will likely want to see him play better before they cough up valuable assets to bring him in.

All of this will rest on the direction that they take ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, and if they decide to push for the postseason, they have to add more shooting. Adding Nembhard into the starting five has helped open up better looks, but they need to supplement that with more shooters around their stars.

Dallas is in a tough spot between the benefits of tanking and pushing for a playoff spot, and more offensive production will be key in them turning their recent hot stretch into a slow burn that doesn't extinguish.