Mavs Trade Deadline: The Delicate Balance Between 'Now' & 'Future'

The Dallas Mavericks have some big decisions to make before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9. GM Nico Harrison has his hands full while trying to strike the right balance between maximizing winning now and better preparing for the future.

With the NBA trade deadline just six days away, at least one thing is for sure — we don’t envy the job Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison is having to do.

The Mavs (28-25) are in a weird spot. Despite being underwhelming for a large chunk of the season, they’re still sitting in fourth-place in the West with 29 games remaining. However, only three games separate fourth-place and 13th-place, which builds even more suspense for Dallas’ upcoming five-game road trip.

Dallas narrowly defeated an ailing New Orleans Pelicans squad at American Airlines Center on Thursday night by the final score of 111-106 after having a 31-point lead in the first half. Although “a win is a win is a win,” as they say, that game still gave off vibes of a loss, especially given that Luka Doncic left in the third quarter with a heel contusion and didn’t return.

“It’s unacceptable, but at the end of the day, we play the Warriors next game,” said Josh Green, who was one of the few bright spots for the Mavs with 15 points on 7-10 shooting off the bench.

“The more we dwell about this – we definitely need to address it, but at the same time, it’s about preparing for the next game and making sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Coach Jason Kidd was slightly more positive with his postgame thoughts: "All the wins are important, especially before the [All-Star] break. A lot of times, this is where teams can separate. But to come out of the homestand with two wins [is great], and now we've got a tough five-game road trip coming up here right before the break."

The Mavs could greatly benefit from accumulating a handful of first-round draft picks in exchange for some of their veterans, but given how tight the West standings are, becoming a full-blown seller at this deadline and potentially punting the end of this season would be a tough thing to sell to an ultimate competitor like Doncic, who wants to win now.

Harrison and the rest of the front office are trying to find that perfect balance of maximizing winning now while also better preparing for the future. Dallas still being limited by the Kristaps Porzingis trade the previous front office made doesn’t make the situation any easier, but there are a couple of different routes the Mavs can take.

On this episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we discuss the Mavs’ win over the Pelicans at length, as well as how the Mavs can try to hit that perfect roster-building balance mentioned above. You can listen to the entire show here:

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