5 Lessons the Dallas Mavericks can learn from 2022-23 season

The Dallas Mavericks had arguably their most disappointing season in franchise history. Luka Doncic was second in the NBA in scoring and produced MVP-caliber numbers, but his team missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year. Dallas was in the conference finals in 2022, and they were fourth in the Western Conference in February before an epic collapse down the stretch forced them to miss the postseason.

Plenty of mistakes were made, which has the franchise fearing the worst. Kyrie Irving is a free agent this summer, and he may have already played his last game for the Mavs. Luka Doncic requesting a trade would be worse, and that could happen as soon as 2024 if the roster around him does not improve.

Making mistakes is one thing, but the franchise must learn from them and do better moving forward. They have not always done that, but here are five lessons the Mavs can learn from the 2022-23 season.

Lessons Dallas Mavericks should learn from the 2022-23 season: 5. Must address roster issues

Dallas watched Jalen Brunson leave in free agency last summer and did zero to replace him. They reached the conference finals by playing two playmakers on the floor at all times, but they had just two left on their roster after JB’s departure.

The Mavs did not stop there. They signed JaVale McGee to be their starting center after the team struggled to rebound and protect the rim last season. Things quickly did not work with McGee, so Powell returned to the starting five. Dallas never took a second bite at trying to upgrade that spot, despite the team's struggles.

They traded their best defender and one of their two playmakers to get Kyrie Irving in February. The Mavericks knew that created a massive defensive deficiency on their roster, but they did zero to address it.

NBA teams with unbalanced rosters do not win. The Dallas Mavericks have to continue addressing roster issues if they want to get back to the playoffs and have a shot to go on a deep run.