NBA: The winners and losers of the 2021 free agency period

Loser: Dallas Mavericks

A similar situation in New Orleans, where we have a generational talent with absolutely no decent support. The Dallas Mavericks should be thanking their lucky stars that such a capable and brilliant young player like Luka Doncic was able to fall into their lap back on 2018 draft night.

But with that, they also need to understand that as great as Luka magic is, basketball is a team sport. For the past two years, Luka has been dominating all throughout the regular season only to get booted out in the first round due to his lack of a supporting cast.

The Mavericks have made minimal efforts to repair these flaws. They kept Tim Hardaway Jr. from walking which was a plus, but they’re going to need much more if they want to make it deep into the postseason. Kristaps Porzingis has been nothing short of disappointing throughout the majority of his time in the lone star state and him being the No. 2 option on the team is a serious concern.

Aside from Hardaway’s extension, the biggest signing the Mavericks made this offseason was for Reggie Bullock, a role player at best that can shoot the deep ball. Luka can’t win on his own, and the Mavericks’ front office ought to understand that they’ll have wasted one of the best careers in basketball if they don’t get their act together and get their Slovenian savior the help he deserves.