The Dallas Mavericks did some impressive work to fix the mistakes they committed during the 2022-23 season.

The team traded Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2027 NBA Draft second-round pick, an unprotected 2029 first rounder and a 2029 second rounder to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris in February. The Mavs were as good as fourth in the Western Conference before the deal happened, but won only nine of the following 27 games, dropping all the way out of the play-in tournament zone to finish 11th in the regular season.

Irving averaged 27 points, five rebounds, six assists and 2.9 triples at 39.2 percent per game in the 20 appearances he made for the Mavericks. He was not the one to blame for the team's underperformance. The lack of chemistry among their players after such a big reshuffle as well as the huge loss of defensive resources were why the Mavericks slipped so quickly and dramatically.

The tasks awaited the team's management during the offseason were more than that because Irving became an unrestricted free agent. If the Mavericks didn't retain him, all of the assets they gave up for the champion guard would become an extremely expensive rental fee for simply 20 games.

Irving worked hard to earn himself a juicy deal by recruiting LeBron James, which was also a way of telling the Mavs that he could join the Los Angeles Lakers. There were also a lot of rumors about him wanting a five-year, $207 million extension – the biggest one he could get would be a five-year, $272 million deal.

Unfortunately, not many teams competed the Mavericks for Irving, who, in the end, agreed to a three-year, $126 million contract with the team. It is even smaller than what the Houston Rockets offered to Fred VanVleet, who signed a three-year, $130 million deal.

The Mavericks continued to make more moves on the NBA Draft Night on June 22. They traded Davis Bertans and their No. 10 pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 12 pick, and drafted Dereck Lively II with it. This deal created a $17 million trade exception for the Mavs, which they sent to the Sacramento Kings for Richaun Holmes and the No. 24 pick. The Mavericks had the Kings select Olivier-Maxence Prosper with that pick.

The above trades enabled the Mavericks to replace Bertans' $17 million salary for the 2023-24 season with Holmes' $12 million. The arrival of Lively II, a 2.16-meter-tall center who averaged 2.4 blocks per game in his final year for Duke University, make a great enhancement for the team's rim protection. Prosper, with his 2.03-meter-height, can be a good supplement to their depth in the wing position, where there is a big vacuum left by the departure of Finney-Smith.

After draft night, the Mavericks inked a three-year, $12 million extension with Dwight Powell and signed Seth Curry on a two-year, $9.3 million contract. Dwight has played over eight seasons in the team and has been familiar with how to play along with Luka Doncic. Curry is an elite 3-point shooter who averaged and played two seasons in the Mavs before. Both are worth more than the deals they agreed on.

The following big move the Mavericks made was landing Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics via sign-and-trade in a three-team deal that also involved the San Antonio Spurs. They gave away Reggie Bullock and a 2030 first rounder swap to the Spurs. Grant Williams is on a four-year, $54 million contract. He averaged 1.5 triples at 39.5 percent last season. Despite his 1.98-meter height, Williams is one of the strongest power forwards in the league and has proved that he can slow down monsters like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.

Getting the Spurs into this trade enabled the Mavericks to save their full mid-level exception and they used it to bid for Matisse Thybulle of the Portland Trail Blazers. Though Thybulle has been an offensive liability these days, he is still a first-class perimeter defender, especially with his seven-foot wingspan.

The Trail Blazers decided to match the Mavs' three-year, $33 million offer for Thybulle. The Mavs can still bid for similar players with their mid-level exception, or, according to the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, use it for trade like trade exception.

The loss of Bullock, their No. 1 defensive option for the opponents' back court ace last season, could be a problem for the Mavericks unless they find a qualified replacement or Josh Green continues to grow quickly enough to take over that duty. Tim Hardaway Jr. still has two years left of his four-year, $75 million contract. The team will want to send him away because of his age (31), injury history and poor defense.

Generally speaking, the Mavericks now have more players they can count on than they did last season. The pair of Doncic and Irving may be the best isolation combination in today's NBA. The abilities of Williams allow the team to find a better balance between spacing and strength. They have enough assets to make a trade package if there is a star player seeking to change his team in the future.

What the Mavericks have at the moment may not be good enough to be a competitive squad for the NBA Finals, but it's not bad enough for Doncic to request a trade for at least another season.