NBA Rumors: Mavs Consulted League on Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving Management vs. Bulls

The NBA was reportedly aware of the Dallas Mavericks' decision to sit Kyrie Irving and other key players for Friday's loss to the Chicago Bulls prior to the game.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavs "consulted with the league office" before officially listing multiple core players as out against Chicago for injury management reasons.

Irving, Christian Wood, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green were all held out, while superstar face of the franchise Luka Dončić sat after just one quarter of play.

Dallas fell 115-112 to Chicago in a loss that eliminated the Mavericks from playoff contention.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, NBA spokesperson announced Saturday that the NBA was launching an investigation into the Mavericks' decision, saying: "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions."

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd called sitting players an "organizational decision," and it has naturally led to questions regarding whether it was a tanking measure meant to help the Mavericks retain their first-round pick.

Dallas sent its 2023 first-rounder to the New York Knicks in the Kristaps Porziņģis trade, but if the Mavericks end up with a pick inside the top 10, they will keep it and defer to 2024.

Missing the playoffs also gives the Mavs an outside shot of winning the draft lottery for a chance to select Victor Wembanyama, who is a potential franchise-altering player.

With Dončić leading the way, the Mavericks surprisingly made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season, but there were concerns entering 2022-23 after Dallas lost Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency.

The Mavs decided to acquire another superstar to pair with Dončić in Irving, but the pairing didn't enjoy much success together after Kyrie came over from the Brooklyn Nets prior to the deadline.

Dallas ended up finishing with a 38-44 record, which placed it 11th in the Western Conference, two games out of the final play-in spot.

The Mavericks had reached the playoffs in three consecutive years entering this season, but after performing well below expectations in 2022-23, they will enter the offseason searching for answers, particularly when it comes to how to best complement Dončić.