Rumors: NBA executive predicts disastrous season for Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks had one of the most disappointing season in recent memory last season.

Dallas was sitting comfortably in the Western Conference playoff race around the time of the trade deadline, and the Mavs ended up making a mid-season trade for star point guard Kyrie Irving.

After the trade, Dallas struggled tremendously down the stretch and missed the playoffs. They were horrible defensively, and the elite offense of Luka Doncic and Irving wasn't enough to beat teams, especially good teams.

Rumors: NBA executive predicts disastrous season for Mavericks

Dallas ended up tanking the final two games of the year, allowing them to keep their top-10 protected pick. They used that pick in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, trading down two spots while shedding Davis Bertans' contract.

They then used the No. 12 pick to draft Dereck Lively II. Dallas tanking the final two games of the year ended up being worth it as they drafted their potential starting center in Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who is expected to get rotation minutes (using the traded player exception from the trade with OKC).

Despite Dallas making these massive changes to their roster, an anonymous NBA executive still seriously doubts Dallas' ability to have a bounce-back season.

On a recent episode of "The Hoop Collective," Brian Windhorst detailed a comment from an NBA executive who seriously doubts Dallas. Windhorst said that on a past podcast, they talked about "who's this year's Sacramento Kings and who's this year's Dallas Mavericks."

Windhorst then said that an NBA executive who had listened to the podcast predicted that the Mavs this year would be last year's Dallas Mavericks, essentially saying that they will have a disappointing season once again.

This would be a major letdown for Mavs fans, but them struggling that bad once again seems unlikely. They got considerably better this offseason and should be much better defensively.

Doncic has also improved since last season, and that has been evident during the preseason. Dallas needs a good season to keep Luka happy, as there were rumored fears last season that he could request a trade if Dallas doesn't start winning.

We'll have you covered with all the latest news and rumors surrounding the Dallas Mavericks this season, so stay tuned.