Report: Mavs' Season Called 'F--king Disaster' Beginning with Jalen Brunson's Exit

To say the Dallas Mavericks had a disappointing 2022-23 season would be an understatement.

Dallas finished 11th in the Western Conference with a 38-44 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

Additionally, the Mavericks were fined for "conduct detrimental to the league" after resting key players in a must-win game on April 7 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Essentially, they were fined for tanking to keep their first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

The Mavs owe a top-10-protected first-round pick to the New York Knicks as part of the 2019 Kristaps Porziņģis trade. They have a 79.8 percent chance of retaining that pick, which will be decided when the draft lottery occurs on May 16.

The team's disappointing season truly began with the failure to re-sign Jalen Brunson, who agreed to terms on a contract with the New York Knicks and has led the franchise into the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Mavs' season has been described as a "f--king disaster" beginning with the departure of Brunson, a team source told The Athletic's Tim Cato.

"One player remarked minutes before the season's final game, 'I'm glad it's over,'" Cato wrote.

Brunson had been a key piece for the Mavericks from 2018 to 2022, but retaining him never seemed like the utmost priority for the franchise. Had they re-signed him, maybe Dallas would be playing for the chance at a title instead of hitting balls on the golf course.

With Brunson gone and things having spiraled out of control this season, the Mavericks are met with questions about how they can get back into the postseason with Luka Dončić as the centerpiece of their franchise.