The Dallas Mavericks were riding high heading into the 2024-25 NBA season.

Dallas at the time was hot off its first NBA Finals appearance since the Dirk Nowitzki-era championship run in 2011, led by All-Star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison made some tactical moves around the periphery of his roster to shore things up, bringing in Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson and Quentin Grimes to essentially replace key contributors Derrick Jones Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green.

The team stumbled out of the gate, and Doncic missed multiple months with a lingering calf injury.

Frustrated with Doncic's fitness, Harrison opted to blow up the roster, offloading the five-time All-NBA First Teamer, center Maxi Kleber, and a very past-his-prime Markieff Morris

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