Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic trade ‘completely exposed’ crucial flaw within the organization, claims Tim MacMahon

Tim MacMahon says Patrick Dumont will be a ‘bit more cautious’ after trading Luka Doncic

Since the blockbuster trade went down, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has taken responsibility for the decision.

Sure, Harrison has continued to back the move, but MacMahon believes the trade showed Dumont’s inexperience in owning an NBA organization.

“It’s the most controversial and panned trade in NBA history, and it completely exposed the flaws in terms of there were no checks and balances for Nico and the organization,” MacMahon said on The Hoops Collective.

Since the trade, the Mavs have faced consistent backlash from their fanbase. But MacMahon feels there is a silver lining here.

“I do think Dumont will be a bit more cautious moving forward, but you have an owner who now has a year and a half under his belt and is very much learning the NBA on the fly,” he added.

Tim MacMahon argues Dallas Mavericks have given up too many first-round picks

For the Mavericks, the strategy moving forward is to obviously build around their No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg.

Alongside Flagg, the Mavs have a core of Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Klay Thompson. However, that’s where the problem lies, per MacMahon.

“It’s four years very early in Cooper Flagg’s career of not having control of your first round pick, that’s a very narrow path in terms of trying to build a championship caliber team,” MacMahon continued.

“… The future Hall of Famers that you have in place now are going to be in their late 30s. Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson,” he concluded.

Flagg has the potential to become one of the best American players in the future. But, at the same time, if the veteran core falls apart, it could massively hinder Flagg’s growth.

A better way to build around Flagg would have been what the San Antonio Spurs did with Victor Wembanyama. The organization drafted its way to becoming a solid team while developing Wemby as well.