Top NBA insider suggests Dallas Mavericks may shut down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for final stretch

To say the Dallas Mavericks’ season hasn’t gone to plan would be a massive understatement. Already boasting one of the top ten players in basketball with Luka Doncic, they then added another top 20 player by picking up Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline.

While a strong case can be made that the Mavericks didn’t have enough time to allow Irving to integrate quickly with his newest teammates, no one in Dallas could have expected the team to go just 4-11 with the two All-NBA players paired together.

After losing their third game in a row on Sunday, the Mavericks now find themselves in 11th place in the Western Conference, one spot behind qualifying for the Play-In Tournament. While the Mavericks sit just one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who hold the 10th seed in the West, there’s been few signs of the Mavericks suddenly snapping out of their funk.

Yet, with three more games to play, one against Sacramento, Chicago, and San Antonio, reaching the Play-In remains a strong possibility.

Unless the Mavericks decide to do the unthinkable, as Shams Charania mentioned on Monday, which was the idea of resting both Doncic and Irving for the rest of the regular season. But as Charania notes, it’s a possibility the Mavericks are reportedly toying with.

This is all complicated by the fact that they have a top-ten protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, meaning if they don’t have a selection in the top ten picks, their draft choice goes to the New York Knicks due to the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

If the Mavericks are still confident in their roster, their coach, and their approach, there’s no reason to even consider throwing in the towel now. Not until or unless they’re actually mathematically eliminated from reaching the Play-In.

In other words, while the Mavericks could theoretically rest their stars, hoping they avoid an injury that could set them back at the start of next season, don’t expect it. What kind of message would that send to the Mavericks’ fanbase? Certainly not one that shows this team is ready to scratch and claw their way back into contention.

Whether they are or aren’t is obviously up to the players, but to remove their chance of competing? That seems like nonsense.