Mavericks rumor proves priorities were out of order even before Luka Doncic trade

The last month has been a nightmare for many Dallas Mavericks fans, as they have sunk in the standings while losing several key players to injuries along the way. Dallas lost Kyrie Irving for the season last week when he tore his ACL against the Sacramento Kings, and later lost Olivier-Maxence Prosper for the year due to a wrist injury that requires surgery.

These injuries add insult to injury considering the team traded Luka Doncic at the beginning of February, and fans still can't believe he is a Los Angeles Laker. Fans wanted him to be a Maverick for life, and he wanted that as well.

He didn't expect to ever leave Dallas, but Nico Harrison had other plans for the franchise as he abruptly traded him for Anthony Davis, and now the Mavericks' championship window has been shortened significantly. While Harrison's decision to trade Doncic may never fully make sense, Mavericks fans should also be thankful he didn't decide to make a rumored move that they were in talks for before the Doncic trade.

Mavericks were willing to break up team even before trading Doncic

While there have been conflicting reports when it comes to Dallas' interest in Jimmy Butler, it sounds like they at least explored the chance to make him a Maverick with some exploratory trade talks. Regardless of how far these talks went, Dallas considered trading two of their key pieces in a trade for Butler, and this would have destroyed the continuity they built to reach the NBA Finals last season.

Rather than betting on a proven formula for success and betting on the core that helped them prosper last season, they were interested in reshuffling the deck.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, Dallas "briefly" included Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington in trade talks for Butler, and while these discussions "didn't go far," it showed that Dallas was willing to break up the team that took them to the NBA Finals last season. Both Washington and Gafford were in Dallas' starting lineup that reached the Finals, and they were willing to give them up in a deal for Butler.

This isn't the first instance in which Gafford was in trade rumors this season, as there were rumblings that they would be open to trading him in a deal for a defensive ace. With these recent rumors, it sounds like he could have been on the table in a trade with the Miami Heat for Butler.

Regardless of how great Butler has been this season, the Mavericks were willing to blow up the team that took them to the Finals last season even before they traded Doncic, giving fans flashbacks of what happened after the team won the NBA Finals in 2011. They didn't run it back with the same roster, and never made the Finals again until 2023.

Continuity is extremely important in today's NBA, and while a big three of Doncic, Irving, and Butler would have been a sight to see, it would have been a major risk as they would have had to gain chemistry all over again. Dallas took the ultimate risk a few days before the trade deadline by trading Doncic, but the Butler rumors show that no one was safe even before that.