Execs think Dallas Mavericks had worst offseason but high on Luka Doncic MVP odds

The Dallas Mavericks lost Jalen Brunson as the 6’1 guard signed with the New York Knicks in free agency, and the front office failed to find a replacement. They did upgrade their frontcourt by trading for Christian Wood and signing JaVale McGee, but it has been a disappointing offseason for fans, especially after the Mavs reached the conference finals last season.

ESPN recently surveyed 15 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives about the offseason and the season ahead, and there was plenty of Mavericks talk. From Luka Doncic being near the top of the MVP heap to the team’s chances to win it all.

Here is a look at where the Mavericks showed up in the survey and a few surprising places that they did not.

Execs think Dallas Mavericks had the worst offseason but are high on Luka Doncic MVP odds

Doncic was prominently featured in the survey as he finished second with four votes to win MVP this season. He was tied with Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo got only one more vote to be the favorite. Luka did not receive a vote for best player in the league right now, despite his incredible playoff run, but he did get six votes for NBA’s best player in five years with Giannis again being the only player to get more.

One exec pointed to the addition of Christian Wood helping the Mavericks win 50 regular season games, and Luka’s usage staying sky high in his case for the 23-year-old superstar to win MVP in 2023.

The Mavericks got six votes for having the worst offseason with no other team earning more than three. Losing Jalen Brunson without getting a return was a disastrous move, and the blame should lay squarely on the shoulders of the Mavs front office. Dallas had multiple chances to re-sign Brunson, but they were always chasing a bigger fish.

The Dallas Mavericks got zero votes to win the Western Conference, despite their deep postseason run in 2022. The executives are not high on the team’s chances this season, but they are ecstatic about the present and future of superstar Luka Doncic. The Mavs need to do a better job building around him, and how they do it will be fascinating to watch moving forward.