The Dallas Mavericks’ season is already over even if there’s still five months and more than 70 games remaining in the 2025-26 campaign. The Mavs are off to a disastrous 3-7 start despite playing the NBA’s third easiest schedule so far. Dallas has lost to the tanking Washington Wizards, the hapless New Orleans Pelicans, and the sinking Memphis Grizzlies to open the season, and they barely beat the 1-9 Indiana Pacers.
Dallas’ offense ranks No. 29 in the NBA. They are one of the league’s worst teams are taking and making three-pointers, grabbing offensive rebounds, and generating assists. The Mavs are losing the possession game on a nightly basis and they are arguably the worst shot-making team in basketball. They struggle to produce paint touches without a real point guard on the roster as Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL. The defense enters the week No. 4 in the NBA, but while this franchise believes “defense wins championships” it’s becoming clear that it doesn’t win regular season games when the offense is this pathetic.
The Mavs have somehow found a way to thread the needle of being the NBA’s saddest franchise while employing one of the league’s brightest young stars at the start of his career. Dallas cashed in on a miracle 1.8 percent chance to win the lottery for Cooper Flagg, and he’s had a rough start to his career. Flagg’s scoring efficiency is absolutely abysmal (49.5 percent true shooting as league-average is 58.2 percent), he almost has as many turnovers as assists, and the defense has been 10 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor. Flagg is the youngest player in the NBA this season after spending only three years in high school, and he’s also playing out of position as a de facto point guard for the first time in his life. He’s going to be excellent eventually, and these extra on-ball reps right now should only help him grow long-term. It’s just an enormous bummer that this “generational” prospect is going through a lost rookie year and looking at a grim team context going forward without some difficult decisions and a lot of luck over the next eight months.
The fanbase that gets to root for Flagg should be overjoyed, but of course Mavericks fans remain miserable because the infamous trade that was made before he arrived. Luka Doncic continues to haunt Dallas, and at this point there’s no doubt that it will go down as one of the worst trades in the history of sports. My original D+ grade for Dallas in the deal was far, far too generous, and I’m frankly a bit embarrassed I didn’t give it an F. Doncic flirting with 40-point triple-doubles for the Los Angeles Lakers every night to open the season only adds salt to the wound. His presence hangs over this franchise like a ghost, and they can’t move on until the mess is finally cleaned up.
The day after the Mavs won the draft lottery, I laid out a plan for how to build around Flagg: 1) fire Nico Harrison, 2) trade Anthony Davis, 3) start to build the asset chest for the long haul. It appears that the Mavericks might be ready to take the first step, and if they’re smart the next two will quickly follow.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that it’s become “unavoidable at the highest levels” that the Mavs need to consider firing Harrison. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon followed by saying that there’s a “very very strong likelihood” that Harrison will be fired during this season. The Doncic trade will be Harrison’s legacy, and I fear it will survive long after anyone reading this post is dead. This the modern NBA’s version of the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees, and not even Flagg is going to make Dallas fans forget about it.
The reality is that the Mavs have already damaged the Flagg era by waiting this long to fire Harrison. In news that will surprise no one, Davis is already missing games this season as he deals with a calf injury. Davis turns 33 years old in March, and he started the season about 20 pounds overweight. He’s under contract for $58.4 million next season with a $62.7 million player option for 2027-28. Klutch Sports mouthpiece ESPN insider Shams Charania guessed that Davis could return four first-round picks in a trade earlier this offseason. At this point, even two firsts feels too rich for Davis, and he may quickly be verging on being a negative asset.
The Mavs can only tank for this season. Dallas does not control its first-round pick in 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. I’m already thinking about Flagg playing on the qualifying offer at the end of his rookie contract and signing with his hometown Boston Celtics in free agency. Dallas can still save the Flagg era, but they have to act quick and nail everything from now on. Once Nico is fired, the fun starts.
What does the Anthony Davis trade market look like?
It’s not easy to find a landing spot for Davis that actually works in terms of both salary matching and appropriate draft compensation. Ironically, I think the Lakers are the best on-court fit for Davis, but making that trade would be totally untenable for the GM that proceeds Harrison, plus the Lakers only have one unprotected first round pick to offer right now.
LeBron James + an unprotected 2032 first-round pick works. I hate this trade and it will never happen:
Here’s a couple other potential Davis suitors:
- Chicago Bulls: The Bulls are the NBA’s biggest surprise, and Davis is a Chicago native. The Bulls’ biggest hole is rim protection and Davis could solve that problem, but his unwillingness to play center full-time would be a hindrance. Chicago could trade Coby White if it doesn’t want to pay him in free agency because it already has a lot of guards. Throw in Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith, plus an unprotected first-round pick in 2027, plus Portland’s lottery-protected first-round, and the salaries work. I personally do not love this for the Bulls — why ruin a good thing? can Davis ever play 60 games in a season again? — but it’s something to think about.
- Toronto Raptors: Toronto wants to compete in the East this year and they have both the draft picks and the contracts to land Davis. Point guard is the Raptors’ biggest need, but I’m jus throwing this out there.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Hey, AD could actually play the four here. The Blazers have a few young players they could throw in here but something like this works.
- Miami Heat: The Heat are always star-hunting, and they might be the only franchise that could get Davis in shape and able to stay on the court. Eh?
Who else can Dallas trade?
Every single player on the roster outside of Flagg should be on the trade block. I’d keep Dereck Lively II and Max Christie to pair with Flagg long-term, but the rest of this roster should be auctioned off for draft picks. These players should have decent value around the league even if they aren’t returning future first-round picks:
- Daniel Gafford
- Klay Thompson
- PJ Washington
- Naji Marshall
And what happens to Kyrie? The Mavs could keep him around to aid Flagg’s development, but at this stage of his career Irving probably only wants to compete for championships. He should probably just be traded this offseason, too.
The Mavs are in a really, really bad situation. This team is listening to “Marvin’s Room” in the pregame locker room and that alone is enough to blow this whole thing up. Nico Harrison should be fired tomorrow, even if this mess is really governor Patrick Dumont’s fault. The Mavs have to act fast, because every day they wait their long-term situation around Flagg gets worse and worse.
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![Pato O’Ward on the 2026 IndyCar season and finding where you belong One of the perks of a job like mine is the opportunity to spend time with race car drivers. They are a joy to talk with, and each conversation leaves me walking away with some new knowledge that will help shape my coverage of motorsport going forward.Every chance to chat with Pato O’Ward, however, takes that experience to a new level.The IndyCar driver has become a face of the sport with good reason. His infectious personality, incredible charisma, and ability on the track have seen O’Ward become a global sensation and one of the sport’s bigger figures. While the 2026 campaign has seen some difficult moments on the track for O’Ward, he enters this weekend’s OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland sitting fifth in the championship standings, and coming off a recent return to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio.We caught up on Thursday night for a quick chat ahead of this weekend’s race in Portland, and while we did talk about racing, we talked about so much more.And I walked away with a life lesson that certainly hit home.Pato O’Ward 2026 IndyCar seasonThat was the word O’Ward used to describe his 2026 season to date when we spoke on Thursday night.“Unexpected and surprising in a lot of ways, I would say,” elaborated the Arrow McLaren driver. “Obviously, every season is different, right? But what’s been so weird to me is that actually, all the tracks that always have been like my championship savers, I’d say like 85% of them have been completely the opposite of what is expected.“Like the ovals this year has been the worst year I have ever had.”Bommarito is one such example. After finishing on the podium at the race a year ago, O’Ward qualified ninth for this year’s installment, and finished down in P11.“[The year] feels like it’s been glitching, in a way.”Still, there have been some high points for hte driver who, as noted above, sits fifth in the championship standings. O’Ward returned to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio, and the driver pointed to that as the high point of the season.“It’s got to be the Mid-Ohio win,” said O’Ward when I asked him about the season’s high point. “Just being able to get things back on track where we’ve been strong, but also being able to execute in all cylinders, right?“The pit stops, the strategy, the car was great, so, it was a nice weekend to put under our belt with like a full-on execution and that’s definitely been the high point this year.”When asked about the toughest parts of the season so far, O’Ward pointed to a few different road courses.“I feel like there’s there’s a few races that I would love to have back and I would say road courses because I know we won in Mid-Ohio, but then Road America, we got destroyed by the yellow and we were legitimately in contention to win that race. And then the [Indianapolis road course] we got taken out and we would have also been in contention to win.“And then Barber, we were just nowhere and, just knowing what we do now, what was going on, it would have been nice to catch the issue first or earlier.”Pato O’Ward answers reader questionsEvery time I am lucky enough to chat with a driver, I ask readers to submit some questions. Some of the best interactions with a driver have come as a result.Thursday night’s chat with O’Ward was no exception, as we got to talk about food, and life itself.The first question focused on the brand-new McLaren Racing Center, a new state-of-the-art facility opened by Arrow McLaren in Indianapolis ahead of the 2026 season. One dear reader wanted to know how the facility made a difference in O’Ward’s preparation this season.He compared it to moving from a starter home, into the top-floor penthouse.“The vibe of it is completely different,” began O’Ward.“I mean, where we were, we were at a level one starter apartment, and we took the elevator to the penthouse. It’s a huge difference in just what it feels like to be there. I’m assuming it’s completely different for all the guys and gals as well, working there. There’s more space, and man, you get there, and you’re like ‘[T]his is so cool that I’m a part of this, right?’“And I think ultimately that just fuels you to be hungrier for success, and for wanting to make things come out the right way and just giving a little bit of the extra, the extra push that will go a long way.”Another reader wanted to know O’Ward’s favorite IndyCar race, with the caveat that he could not pick the Indianapolis 500.For not the first time during our conversation, and not for the last, O’Ward’s eyes lit up.“Dude, Arlington was Badass. Arlington was awesome,” said the driver about the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, a new street race in Arlington, Texas.“Oh my God, like Arlington … I’m so excited to go back there because the people that were there were so excited for this new event. Obviously, the turnout looked phenomenal on TV. It looked great, even for us in the car. It, it was awesome. So, Arlington definitely takes that one for me.”O’Ward’s eyes lit up at the next reader question, which focused on the race experience away from the track. What stop on the schedule has the best local food, or restaurant, that he looks forward to each year?The driver’s eyes lit up again.“All right, so Saint Pete. Saint Pete’s got good ones. Phoenix has got good ones as well.”O’Ward then returned to Arlington.“The Dallas scene is insane. Like, you find everything you want in Dallas.“And I might be a little bit biased because I love Texas, and I, you know, I spend a lot of time there.“Actually, in a perfect world, I’d probably be living in Dallas. That’s probably where I would pick to move, maybe I do in the near future, but I do love Dallas and I gotta go with that one, man.“It’s just, there’s too much at your disposal of whatever food you wanna, wanna look for, and it’s just a cool city.”The final question dealt with a bit of news O’Ward made this season, when he asked to be released from his Formula 1 duties as a reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team, and focus on IndyCar. I asked O’Ward how that decision came about, and how it reframed his focus on IndyCar for 2026 and beyond.A lesson about life itself followed.“I think it’s probably been a bit of a mix of, you know, maybe maturing a little bit and learning that the one living your life is yourself, and you need to maximize it as much as you can, and you also need to do what’s good for your soul. And by that, I mean, you gotta do what you wanna do,” began O’Ward.“You gotta be where you are, where you are happy. Where you see a future where you are excited to come back to work every single year and keep going, right?“Like for me, IndyCar represents all of that. I love the direction that the series is going on, and I do think it’s only gonna get better.“I love being a part of it.”O’Ward then turned to life here in the United States.“You know, I’ve been challenged in America. I’ve been used to living in America, and I love that about my life, I wouldn’t change it for anything. I don’t wanna move anywhere else.“I’m close to home in Mexico, and I do think there’s so much potential and so much growth that can still happen, that want to be a part of that.He then concended that the decision was “tough,” as it meant closing the door on a dream.“So it was a tough decision because you’re basically, like, you’re going against your dream, right?“The dream that ultimately opened the doors to this situation, and to being here now, but it was a very easy decision for me to be like, you know, ‘[w]hat makes me happy and what do I wanna do?’“And, you know, I keep getting taken to the same decision every single time.”Pato O’Ward on the Grand Prix of PortlandO’Ward and the rest of the IndyCar grid is in Portland this weekend, for the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.It is a race where O’Ward has enjoyed success, at least during qualifying, as well as some success early in his career in the Indy Lights series. Last year he put his Arrow McLaren on the front row, qualifying second, and he started first when pole-sitter and teammate Christian Lundgaard took a grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. O’Ward entered that race sitting second in the championship standings behind Alex Palou, needing something special to keep the pressure on the leader.But an electronics malfunction called O’Ward into the pits early in the race, and he finished down in P25. A third-place finish from Palou clinched another title for the Chip Ganassi driver.Can O’Ward finally taste race success in Portland this weekend?“I’ve yet to have this great IndyCar result here for me,” began O’Ward. “I’ve had good qualifying here.“I think last year is the one that’s most fresh on my mind. And we’ve had pace, but we haven’t had that, like, breakthrough Portland IndyCar weekend like I had the first time I was here in an Indy Lights car; That was a very cool weekend for me.“I ended up winning the championship, winning both races, and it’s also a track that I really, I truly enjoy driving.“It’s very old school.”So, I’d love to break through that and get ourselves, on the podium this weekend.“That’d be, that’d be fantastic.”O’Ward begins that pursuit later today with the first practice session ahead of the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland. #Pato #OWard #IndyCar #season #finding #belong](https://i0.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/gettyimages-2284208207.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Pato O’Ward on the 2026 IndyCar season and finding where you belong One of the perks of a job like mine is the opportunity to spend time with race car drivers. They are a joy to talk with, and each conversation leaves me walking away with some new knowledge that will help shape my coverage of motorsport going forward.Every chance to chat with Pato O’Ward, however, takes that experience to a new level.The IndyCar driver has become a face of the sport with good reason. His infectious personality, incredible charisma, and ability on the track have seen O’Ward become a global sensation and one of the sport’s bigger figures. While the 2026 campaign has seen some difficult moments on the track for O’Ward, he enters this weekend’s OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland sitting fifth in the championship standings, and coming off a recent return to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio.We caught up on Thursday night for a quick chat ahead of this weekend’s race in Portland, and while we did talk about racing, we talked about so much more.And I walked away with a life lesson that certainly hit home.Pato O’Ward 2026 IndyCar seasonThat was the word O’Ward used to describe his 2026 season to date when we spoke on Thursday night.“Unexpected and surprising in a lot of ways, I would say,” elaborated the Arrow McLaren driver. “Obviously, every season is different, right? But what’s been so weird to me is that actually, all the tracks that always have been like my championship savers, I’d say like 85% of them have been completely the opposite of what is expected.“Like the ovals this year has been the worst year I have ever had.”Bommarito is one such example. After finishing on the podium at the race a year ago, O’Ward qualified ninth for this year’s installment, and finished down in P11.“[The year] feels like it’s been glitching, in a way.”Still, there have been some high points for hte driver who, as noted above, sits fifth in the championship standings. O’Ward returned to the top step of the podium with a win at Mid-Ohio, and the driver pointed to that as the high point of the season.“It’s got to be the Mid-Ohio win,” said O’Ward when I asked him about the season’s high point. “Just being able to get things back on track where we’ve been strong, but also being able to execute in all cylinders, right?“The pit stops, the strategy, the car was great, so, it was a nice weekend to put under our belt with like a full-on execution and that’s definitely been the high point this year.”When asked about the toughest parts of the season so far, O’Ward pointed to a few different road courses.“I feel like there’s there’s a few races that I would love to have back and I would say road courses because I know we won in Mid-Ohio, but then Road America, we got destroyed by the yellow and we were legitimately in contention to win that race. And then the [Indianapolis road course] we got taken out and we would have also been in contention to win.“And then Barber, we were just nowhere and, just knowing what we do now, what was going on, it would have been nice to catch the issue first or earlier.”Pato O’Ward answers reader questionsEvery time I am lucky enough to chat with a driver, I ask readers to submit some questions. Some of the best interactions with a driver have come as a result.Thursday night’s chat with O’Ward was no exception, as we got to talk about food, and life itself.The first question focused on the brand-new McLaren Racing Center, a new state-of-the-art facility opened by Arrow McLaren in Indianapolis ahead of the 2026 season. One dear reader wanted to know how the facility made a difference in O’Ward’s preparation this season.He compared it to moving from a starter home, into the top-floor penthouse.“The vibe of it is completely different,” began O’Ward.“I mean, where we were, we were at a level one starter apartment, and we took the elevator to the penthouse. It’s a huge difference in just what it feels like to be there. I’m assuming it’s completely different for all the guys and gals as well, working there. There’s more space, and man, you get there, and you’re like ‘[T]his is so cool that I’m a part of this, right?’“And I think ultimately that just fuels you to be hungrier for success, and for wanting to make things come out the right way and just giving a little bit of the extra, the extra push that will go a long way.”Another reader wanted to know O’Ward’s favorite IndyCar race, with the caveat that he could not pick the Indianapolis 500.For not the first time during our conversation, and not for the last, O’Ward’s eyes lit up.“Dude, Arlington was Badass. Arlington was awesome,” said the driver about the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, a new street race in Arlington, Texas.“Oh my God, like Arlington … I’m so excited to go back there because the people that were there were so excited for this new event. Obviously, the turnout looked phenomenal on TV. It looked great, even for us in the car. It, it was awesome. So, Arlington definitely takes that one for me.”O’Ward’s eyes lit up at the next reader question, which focused on the race experience away from the track. What stop on the schedule has the best local food, or restaurant, that he looks forward to each year?The driver’s eyes lit up again.“All right, so Saint Pete. Saint Pete’s got good ones. Phoenix has got good ones as well.”O’Ward then returned to Arlington.“The Dallas scene is insane. Like, you find everything you want in Dallas.“And I might be a little bit biased because I love Texas, and I, you know, I spend a lot of time there.“Actually, in a perfect world, I’d probably be living in Dallas. That’s probably where I would pick to move, maybe I do in the near future, but I do love Dallas and I gotta go with that one, man.“It’s just, there’s too much at your disposal of whatever food you wanna, wanna look for, and it’s just a cool city.”The final question dealt with a bit of news O’Ward made this season, when he asked to be released from his Formula 1 duties as a reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team, and focus on IndyCar. I asked O’Ward how that decision came about, and how it reframed his focus on IndyCar for 2026 and beyond.A lesson about life itself followed.“I think it’s probably been a bit of a mix of, you know, maybe maturing a little bit and learning that the one living your life is yourself, and you need to maximize it as much as you can, and you also need to do what’s good for your soul. And by that, I mean, you gotta do what you wanna do,” began O’Ward.“You gotta be where you are, where you are happy. Where you see a future where you are excited to come back to work every single year and keep going, right?“Like for me, IndyCar represents all of that. I love the direction that the series is going on, and I do think it’s only gonna get better.“I love being a part of it.”O’Ward then turned to life here in the United States.“You know, I’ve been challenged in America. I’ve been used to living in America, and I love that about my life, I wouldn’t change it for anything. I don’t wanna move anywhere else.“I’m close to home in Mexico, and I do think there’s so much potential and so much growth that can still happen, that want to be a part of that.He then concended that the decision was “tough,” as it meant closing the door on a dream.“So it was a tough decision because you’re basically, like, you’re going against your dream, right?“The dream that ultimately opened the doors to this situation, and to being here now, but it was a very easy decision for me to be like, you know, ‘[w]hat makes me happy and what do I wanna do?’“And, you know, I keep getting taken to the same decision every single time.”Pato O’Ward on the Grand Prix of PortlandO’Ward and the rest of the IndyCar grid is in Portland this weekend, for the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.It is a race where O’Ward has enjoyed success, at least during qualifying, as well as some success early in his career in the Indy Lights series. Last year he put his Arrow McLaren on the front row, qualifying second, and he started first when pole-sitter and teammate Christian Lundgaard took a grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. O’Ward entered that race sitting second in the championship standings behind Alex Palou, needing something special to keep the pressure on the leader.But an electronics malfunction called O’Ward into the pits early in the race, and he finished down in P25. A third-place finish from Palou clinched another title for the Chip Ganassi driver.Can O’Ward finally taste race success in Portland this weekend?“I’ve yet to have this great IndyCar result here for me,” began O’Ward. “I’ve had good qualifying here.“I think last year is the one that’s most fresh on my mind. And we’ve had pace, but we haven’t had that, like, breakthrough Portland IndyCar weekend like I had the first time I was here in an Indy Lights car; That was a very cool weekend for me.“I ended up winning the championship, winning both races, and it’s also a track that I really, I truly enjoy driving.“It’s very old school.”So, I’d love to break through that and get ourselves, on the podium this weekend.“That’d be, that’d be fantastic.”O’Ward begins that pursuit later today with the first practice session ahead of the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland. #Pato #OWard #IndyCar #season #finding #belong")
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