Mavericks can't afford to repeat this costly blunder for a fourth time

The Dallas Mavericks have struggled to find the right point guard to back up Kyrie Irving over the last few years, and they can't afford to mess this up again.

Dallas has picked the wrong point guard in free agency multiple years in a row, and it has cost them. From bringing back Spencer Dinwiddie for his second stint with the team in 2024 to re-signing Dante Exum after two seasons of being injury-prone last summer to expecting D'Angelo Russell to be an adequate stopgap option, the Mavericks have struck out.

Why the Mavericks must fix their guard problem

And they're running out of chances. Dallas has to put a contender around Cooper Flagg beginning this summer, given that they don't own their first-round pick next season, and tanking won't be an option. They have to revamp their guard room to better fit the roster and Flagg's needs, and Irving should be the only lock to return next season.

The 2025-26 season is already a wash for Dallas. They're already a bottom team in the Western Conference, and the playoffs are completely out of the picture for them.

This is not what anyone expected heading into this season, but Dallas has to play the cards that they've been dealt.

Their focus is obviously on next season, given that they traded Anthony Davis and shut down Irving for the rest of the season, and they have to shift their direction to a Flagg-centered rebuild.

How Dallas can flip the script with their guard play

They currently have the seventh-best odds of receiving the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and if they don't jump into the top four, there will be plenty of guards to choose from. Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff Jr., and Mikel Brown Jr. are all poised to go outside of the top four, and at least one of them should be on the board whenever Dallas is on the clock.

Any of these players would be an excellent add to jumpstart the first real year of the Cooper Flagg era, and one of these rookies having the chance to learn behind Kyrie Irving would be game-changing.

Along with the Mavericks' first-round lottery selection, that will likely be used on a guard if they don't move up, they must have a productive free agency as well.

This is where they've really struggled to evaluate talent and the right fit when building their backcourt, and they can't afford to have another Exum-Russell summer. These were their main signings last offseason, and both players failed to make a significant impact.

Exum didn't play a single game for Dallas before being traded to the Washington Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis deal, and Russell was consistently a DNP-CD before being traded. The Mavericks needed both of those players to step up in Irving's absence, but neither did.

Now, less than a year later, they'll soon be in a similar spot. Irving will be back, but they know that they can't look past fixing their backcourt this time around.

They'll have some exceptions to play with in free agency, and adding a strong backup guard to play behind Kyrie Irving should be one of the team's top priorities this summer. If they do, the Mavericks will be in a much better spot to compete for a return to the playoffs.

If not, Dallas could struggle once again.