The Mavericks are a different team. I can prove it.

The evolution of the Mavericks is happening quickly and right under our noses.

When watching the Dallas Mavericks in the Luka Dončić era, there have been a fair number of false dawns.

These are times where we think the team has turned the corner only to realize we were fooled. They had not.

The stops and starts of the momentum of the franchise was frustrating for all involved - most notably, Luka himself. Why wasn’t this team developing faster and better around one of the best players on the planet?

It wasn’t helped by the roster in place. They had to take big gambles on massive trades that cloud visions of reality. The All-In trade for Kristaps Porzingis in January of 2019 made us think this was all happening much faster than first envisioned. It was a false dawn.

But, it wasn’t. The trade for Josh Richardson. The trade for JJ Redick. Both smaller moves that were supposed to move the needle in the 2020-21 season. They did not.

At the end of that year, after the confusing loss to the Clippers in June of 2021, Rick Carlisle and Donnie Nelson exited. In comes Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison in their spots and the experiment starts over.

They must quickly get Luka his first major extension within a few months and re-sign Tim Hardaway. They also do not get Jalen Brunson done in a move that barely registered at the time. It would become bigger over time.

By that next February (2022), it is time to move out Porzingis to Washington for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. The team catches lightning in a bottle and beats Utah and Phoenix on their way to an ahead-of-schedule Western Conference Final in 2022.

The sky would become the new limit!

But, alas, a month later, Brunson would leave for New York and the Mavericks experienced another false dawn.

Undaunted, they would quickly trade for Christian Wood – only to immediately realize they probably shouldn’t have done that. The 2022-23 season was a massive step back and disappointment was found in every direction. Year 2 of Kidd and Nico had really stumbled.