6 Dallas Mavericks who definitely won't be back next season

Now that the Dallas Mavericks' 2023-24 season is officially over with their loss in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, it's time to start looking at how they can improve their squad this offseason.

Dallas tremendously over-performed considering that tons of media thought they wouldn't even make the playoffs, and the sky is the limit for this team over the next few years.

With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at the core, the Mavs have the potential to return to the Finals as soon as next year, and I fully expect Nico Harrison to be aggressive this offseason in building the roster around this star duo.

6 Dallas Mavericks who definitely won't be back next season

Harrison has never been afraid to make a big splash during the summer in the past, and this summer will be no different. They have the primary core around Doncic and Irving set in stone for the next few years, and a few more complimentary pieces could put them in a position to win their first NBA Championship since 2011.

Dallas has several players who will become free agents this summer and several players who could be moved on the trade market.

With all of that being said, here are six Dallas Mavericks players who definitely won't be back next season.

6. Jaden Hardy

After the Dallas Mavericks drafted Jaden Hardy in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, every Mavs fan couldn't wait to see him play. Under Nico Harrison, Dallas has done extremely well in the draft, and Hardy was a huge steal in the second round.

He ended up having a great rookie season as he averaged 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from downtown. Hardy had an excellent finish to the year, and it was clear that he would be a piece in the rotation moving forward.

At the start of this season, Hardy was in and out of the rotation, and inefficiency plagued him. All of the progress he built from the prior season seemed to have plateaued, and his future role in Dallas looked in question.

He followed this up with an excellent stretch during the middle of the season, proving that he should be a part of the rotation, but Jason Kidd pretty much alluded to Hardy not having a role in the rotation for the rest of the season.

Kidd wasn't unfair by doing this, as he gave Hardy every chance to prove that he belonged in the rotation, especially at the end of the season, and he never really stepped up.

Inconsistency and trying to do too much within the offense hurt Hardy, and it'll be interesting to see if he is moved in a trade this summer. A young team or even a contender could be interested in trading for Hardy, and he could be a good sweetener in a deal if the Mavs make a swing for a big fish.

Hardy could be someone Dallas holds on to, but this may only be smart if they can trade someone else who will make an appearance on this list later on. He was up and down during the playoffs, and it'll be interesting to see if they view him as a long-term piece or not.