Dirk Nowitzki's key Mavericks concern will make or break Nico Harrison's gutsy plan

Dirk Nowitzki clearly has all the belief in the world next season for the Dallas Mavericks, as he recently said that they are one of the deepest teams in the NBA and praised them, but he has one concern about next season. This concern will ultimately determine their fate, and it's injuries.

On a recent episode of the "DLLS Mavs Podcast," Nowitzki talked about the Mavericks heading into next season, and while he hyped up the squad and gave them their flowers, even he knows that being able to stay healthy is going to be their biggest X-factor.

"So, once (Kyrie Irving) comes back and he’s the old Kyrie, this is a heck of a team that’s super loaded, and the main thing is, can they stay healthy for the long run," Nowitzki said.

Injuries will be the Mavs' biggest X-factor next season

All of this came after he hyped up the Mavs' frontcourt and depth, but his concerns about injuries are 100 percent valid. Injuries are what ultimately derailed last season, as Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March and Anthony Davis only played in nine regular-season games as a Maverick thanks to an adductor strain, and Nico Harrison's vision of winning a title within the next few years could rest upon the health of his roster.

Harrison's master plan must've changed a little bit after Dallas won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick, as their timeline has extended considerably, but he still did push all of his chips into the center of the table by trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis earlier this year.

He wants to win the NBA Finals as soon as possible, but that can't be done without all of his main pieces being healthy.

When healthy, it's known that the Mavericks should emerge as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Irving is one of the most skilled players this game has ever seen, Davis is one of the best bigs in the NBA thanks to his incredible defense and dominance in the paint, and they have great depth on the wing and down low with Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II, but injuries have hit each of these players hard over the last calendar year.

Outside of Flagg, each of the aforementioned players missed significant time with injuries last season, and they must stay much healthier this season if they want a chance to contend.

Irving is set to miss a large chunk of next season, but outside of him, everyone should be healthy for the start of training camp. This is their chance to reverse the bad mojo that hit the team last season in the injury department, and Nowitzki's concern echoes that of most fans.

Mavericks fans know that Dallas can be deadly when they're at full strength, but it'll all come down to everyone staying healthy and being available for the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs. One injury in the postseason can destroy everything, just like we saw with multiple teams in last season's playoffs, and the Mavericks will be hoping that they are on the right side of this as the 2025-26 season quickly approaches.

All eyes will be on Harrison's Mavericks as Flagg begins his rookie year and Davis embarks on his revenge tour, and everyone being healthy at the right time could lead to his bold plan coming true.