The Dallas Mavericks have not started the 2025-2026 NBA season the way they wanted. At 2-6, the Mavs are currently rocking a three-game losing streak and are 15th in the West. Considering how stacked the conference is, they don’t want to fall too much further, but the bad news continues to grow.
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Superstar Anthony Davis is currently out of action due to a calf strain that reportedly has him listed as “day-to-day”. And No.1 pick Cooper Flagg is not playing as dominant of ball as the Mavs hoped, but the young man is also being asked to fill a big role since Kyrie Irving is still out recovering from his ACL.
What makes matters worse? The Mavs former face of the franchise, Luka Doncic, is flourishing on the Lakers, who are currently No. 2 in the West. The Don is averaging 40 PPG and clearly seems to have won in the trade from Mavs GM Nico Harrison who sent him packing last year. Kendrick Perkins has seen enough. He believes Dallas is in full on panic mode already.
“The pressure is on,” stated KP on the latest Road Trippin podcast. “Here’s the thing. Right now it’s the Lakers, but I’m just gonna say Luka. Luka and the Dallas Mavericks will forever be tied together. The Dallas Mavericks will always be monitoring what Luka’s team be doing.”
Perk then mentioned how AD’s injury wasn’t a case of bad luck, but a case of him not showing up season-ready during training camp. He also defended Flagg and reiterated that the entire franchise just has a lot of pressure on its shoulders.
“AD went out because he decided to come into training camp 30 pounds overweight and get in shape in training camp. He’s sidelined. Cooper Flagg is up and down right now because they’re asking him to do a big a** role, and he walked into a situation that’s full of pressure.”
KP’s not wrong. The way the Luka trade was explained by Harrison and company was that it was going to help the Mavs continue to contend while building up assets for its future. Instead, Dallas missed the playoffs after losing in the Play-In last season. And this season they are currently last in the conference.
So what can they do? Perk claimed that the organization may ask Irving to come back sooner than later to save them from their free fall. “Now you’re looking at Kyrie and you like, ‘Damn we thought we could have bought you some more time but we need you. WE NEED YOU.’ It’s getting to a point where they are desperate.”
“I expect Kyrie to come back early because again, you can’t fall too deep down in the Western Conference. You don’t want to get 20 games in and still 14th in the West. That’s gonna be a tall a** ladder to climb,” he added.
The Mavs are in a tough spot, no doubt. Between AD’s conditioning issues, Flagg’s growing pains, and Kyrie still rehabbing, the team just looks lost. An ACL injury usually takes anywhere from 9 to 12 months to fully recover, so Kyrie wasn’t expected back until midseason at the earliest.
But with how bad things are going, Dallas might not have that kind of time. Meanwhile, Luka’s thriving in L.A., and the contrast couldn’t be sharper. If the Mavs don’t steady the ship soon, that “rebuild while competing” plan might start looking more like just a rebuild.
