Mavericks' rumored Lonzo Ball trade sparks alarming red flag Dallas can't ignore

The Dallas Mavericks' offseason has been going on for over five weeks, and with the NBA Playoffs concluding soon and the NBA Draft right around the corner, everything is about to pick up. Quickly.

This offseason, it is clear Dallas prioritizes bringing Irving back on a new contract if he decides to opt out of his player option while finding someone to replace him until he returns from his ACL tear at some point in 2026, and one player the Mavericks have been linked to is Lonzo Ball of the Chicago Bulls.

Dallas would have to trade for Ball, as he has two years remaining on his contract with the Bulls, and if they were to trade for him, they'd just be inviting the ghost that haunted them last season to return to the American Airlines Center. Ball has been extremely injury-prone over the first eight years of his career, and considering how bad the Mavs' injuries were last season, trading for Ball would be a risk that they may not want to take.

Lonzo Ball's injury history is too severe for Mavericks to look past

Over his eight-year NBA career, Ball has played in just 287 games while missing the entirety of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with a complicated series of left knee injuries, and once he returned, he only played 35 games for the Bulls last season. Ball was solid once he came back, as he averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 34.4 percent from downtown, but a wrist sprain ultimately caused him to miss the final 22 games of the season.

Ball won't need surgery on his wrist, but considering the Mavs are going to need to rely heavily upon whoever they sign or trade for to replace Irving, Ball may not be their guy.

Regardless of how well he would fit on and off the court.

Ball was heralded for his impact in the Bulls' locker room over the last few years, as he is as professional as they come, and his on-court fit also looks like it would be seamless in Dallas as well (especially once Irving returns and he can play alongside him). Ball has great positional size, as he is a 6-foot-6 combo guard who provides versatility and defense while being an elite connector, but the Mavericks can't look past his injury history.

In the six seasons he has played in (excluding the two seasons he sat out), Ball has averaged just 47.8 games per season. He played in just over 58 percent of his team's games over those six seasons, and that is not a great sign for potential suitors such as Dallas, regardless of how healthy he is heading into the offseason.

Last season, the Mavericks dealt with serious injuries to players like Irving, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, Dante Exum, Anthony Davis, Caleb Martin, and P.J. Washington, with only four players playing 60 or more games (Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, and Max Christie (including his time with the Los Angeles Lakers before getting traded)).

Their injuries ended up being one of the main reasons they couldn't contend for a title, even though they ended up getting mostly healthy ahead of the Play-In Tournament, and they can't count on Ball to be Irving's primary replacement for multiple months.

Sure, Ball fits the exact mold of the type of player Dallas wants, as he is an exceptional playmaker, but he can't be the Mavs' only option to replace Irving. They'd have to bring in someone else as well, assuming Ball misses some games, and he may not be the answer that Mavericks fans are hoping for.