Mavericks just blew their only chance to tank correctly

With the Dallas Mavericks' 149-128 win over the Chicago Bulls last night, they officially finished as the seventh-worst team in the league with a 26-56 record (tied with the New Orleans Pelicans). This is nowhere close to where they wanted to finish after drafting Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick, but they should've finished in an even worse position than they did.

The Mavericks' nightmare season should've been even worse

Dallas doesn't fully control their own first-round pick after this season until 2031, making this year's draft pick crucial as ever. Potentially one of the most important picks in franchise history. The Mavericks should've given themselves the best possible chance to move up into that top four to draft a generational prospect.

The Mavericks have a chance to find Flagg's co-star in the 2026 NBA Draft with their lottery pick, but as shown by the lottery standings, they started their tank way too late and didn't tank hard enough. This is obviously a controversial subject, given that multiple teams were fined for tanking this season. Still, Dallas could've improved their place in the lottery standings if they tanked properly. They just didn't.

Dallas waited way too long to tank

The Mavericks were eliminated from playoff contention on March 23 after their loss to the Golden State Warriors. This marked the third time in the last four seasons that Dallas didn't make the NBA Playoffs, but they knew this was their destiny way before that.

The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis and shut down Kyrie Irving in February. By making both of these moves, they signalled a focus on the future and a bigger picture. All of their eggs were in Flagg's basket. Nico Harrison's former win-now mindset was thrown out the window, as Dallas knew that they had a future franchise cornerstone in Flagg.

Even though they knew their destiny, they delayed the inevitable. The Mavs didn't start tanking hard until last week, and this ultimately cost them valuable positioning in the lottery standings.

Why the Mavericks' draft lottery position is a problem

Dallas is tied with New Orleans for the No. 7 spot, and a coin flip on lottery night will determine who finishes higher between them. The Mavericks could hypothetically fall to eighth, or even further if one of the teams below them jumps up into the top four.

This is a nightmare waiting to happen, but it didn't have to be like this. They had the No. 6 spot in the lottery standings for the taking if they had just lost the final handful of games.

Instead, they stumbled into two wins over the last two weeks or so. But both were preventable.

Dallas took down the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday and the Portland Trail Blazers at the end of March. The Mavericks were trying to win both contests, and they should've implemented a strategy that Jason Kidd used last week against the Phoenix Suns much earlier.

How Dallas should've tanked

Kidd pulled his starters with less than five minutes remaining against Phoenix, and Dallas lost by five points. The team could've used a similar strategy in both close contests against Portland and Los Angeles, but instead, they pushed for victories.

Coach Kidd was just doing as he was told, but Dallas' desire to win some late-season games could be the difference between them finishing eighth instead of sixth. This may not seem like a major difference, but two spots in the draft could be what separates them from landing the prospect that they want most.

Having to root for other teams, such as Memphis and New Orleans, at the end of the season shows exactly where they went wrong, and the Mavericks blew their one chance to tank.