Mavericks' alarmingly low ranking raises urgent questions about their future

The Dallas Mavericks' 2023-24 season is one that fans will never forget.

After making trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, the team went on an unbelievable regular season run and playoff run, ultimately reaching the NBA Finals before losing to the Boston Celtics.

No one expected this Mavs team to reach the Finals, but they showed that they are going to be a contender in the Western Conference for a long time. While Dallas is on top of the world right now when it comes to their potential and firepower, one recent ranking could make some fans question the future of the team.

Mavericks' trade assets are more limited than before

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey ranked every team in the NBA based on their trade assets, and the Mavs were ranked among the league's worst at No. 26.

Bailey listed Jaden Hardy, Dereck Lively II, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper as Dallas' top player trade assets and their most notable draft picks being their 2025, 2026, and 2031 first-round picks. Dallas' lack of first-round picks is due to the plethora of trades they've made over the last few years, and their window to win the NBA Finals is right now.

Lively II is arguably the team's third-best player going into next season, and his outstanding contract combined with his on-court excellence makes him someone that any NBA team would love to have. Teams were already calling the Mavs about Lively II at last season's trade deadline, but Dallas was reluctant to trade him for good reason.

Prosper and Hardy are two youngsters who Dallas could use in trade offers to try to upgrade their roster, but the future of this team rests on its star duo.

Kyrie Irving has a player option after this next season while Luka Doncic has a player option after the following season. While Doncic is eligible for a contract extension, the Mavs still need to find a way to win right now with the team they have.

Doncic and Irving leaving in back-to-back seasons would be a nightmare scenario, and although extremely unlikely, the Mavs are still in a tough spot due to their lack of trade assets to make their team better.

Nico Harrison is never afraid to make a big move and has done a great job of building this roster around Doncic and Irving, but they are limited in ways to upgrade their roster even more if next season doesn't go according to plan.

Trading more first-round picks could be a disaster for Dallas considering that they are already limited in that area, and although the Mavs have gotten younger, they still need to do their best to conserve their future first-round picks as much as possible.

The Mavs were not alone in being lowly ranked in this list, as the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets were two other contenders that were ranked near the bottom, and Dallas is poised to have another excellent season this year after adding Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes to a roster that was already loaded.

Dallas has done a great job of building for the future as well as right now, and despite their lack of trade assets, the future is bright for this young team.