Heading into Friday's game against the Bulls, the Mavericks still had a chance to earn a Play-In Tournament berth. They didn't control their own destiny, but they had not yet been eliminated from postseason contention.
Instead of going all out to win and keep those Play-In hopes alive, Dallas sat several key players and limited Luka Doncic to 13 minutes of action. The Mavericks' backups lost to the Bulls by a final score of 115-112, putting an ugly bow on what has been a disappointing season.
On Saturday, the NBA announced that it will investigate Dallas' decision to send multiple members of its rotation to the bench. Here are the latest details on the investigation and what could happen next.
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Why did Mavericks sit players vs. Bulls?
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported on Monday that Dallas was "seriously considering the possibility of shutting down" Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Why? It's all about draft capital.
As Charania noted, the Mavericks have a top-10 protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. If it falls outside of the top 10, the pick would go to the Knicks. (It was part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade in 2019.)
However, if it stays within that range, Dallas would take a key asset into the offseason.
"At that point, you have the flexibility of having that potentially top-10 pick," Charania said on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back" show. "You have three first-round picks that you can trade this offseason to go get a star and potentially more players in the marketplace. They're gonna be one of the more active teams."
“I think the Mavericks have to seriously look at whether you shut down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving these last 3 games of the regular season” 😬@ShamsCharania on the #Mavs mindset going into the final 3 games#RunItBack #MFFL pic.twitter.com/IPqgwS2YHm
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) April 3, 2023
Both Irving and Doncic played against the Kings on Wednesday, but Irving was one of five Mavericks who were not available for Friday's game against the Bulls.
Before tipoff, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that Doncic would sit out after the first quarter, and Mavs coach Jason Kidd confirmed that Doncic would play limited minutes and "most likely" sit out the rest of the season.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd confirms sitting players is a managerial decision, but he’s confident the team could win two play-in games on the road.
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) April 7, 2023
While things could change based on tonight’s outcome, Kidd expects Luka Doncic’s season to be done after the 1st quarter. pic.twitter.com/gPSYSeNsAA
Why NBA is investigating Mavericks' 'roster decisions'
In a statement released on Saturday, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said that the league has launched an investigation "into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions."
It's unclear what specific penalties the Mavericks could face, but Dallas would likely be hit with a hefty fine if the NBA determines that the franchise violated the league's constitution and by-laws. Mavs owner Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 in 2018 after he openly discussed tanking on a podcast with Julius Erving.
"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night," Cuban said on the podcast. "And here we are. We weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option.'
"[NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] would hate to be hearing that. But at least I sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans are going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This is like a year and a half of tanking. That was too brutal for me."
Cuban has not publicly commented on the organization's decision to sit players or the league's investigation.
