The NBA is Investigating the Dallas Mavericks for Going Full Tank Mode Against the Bulls

The NBA announced on Saturday that they are investigating the Dallas Mavericks.

According to ESPN, the league is taking a closer look at the team’s decision to rest multiple key players in the thick of a postseason race. Dallas sat Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, and Christian Wood, and Josh Green ahead of Friday night’s meeting with the Chicago Bulls. Luke Doncic also played just under 13 minutes before sitting out the rest of the game.

“The NBA commenced an investigation today 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,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

The Chicago Bulls also opted to rest multiple players for last night’s game, but the difference for them was that a Play-In Tournament berth had already been clinched. For the Mavericks, they needed to win their final two games and have the Grizzlies lose their final meeting with the Thunder on Sunday to snatch the 10 seed. However, by resting nearly their entire rotation, it became clear they preferred not to push for the postseason and wanted to aim for better lottery odds.

With the loss, the Mavericks now sit as the 10th-worst team in the league. This means they have an even more likely shot to keep their 2023 first-round pick, which is top 10 protected and sent to New York in the Kristaps Prozingis trade.

I got to be honest, there is no way I can see a world where the Mavs DON’T get in trouble for what they did. While we all know tanking happens every year, it’s rarely this blatant. Not to mention, teams typically decide to throw in the towel far earlier in the season. The fact they wanted until the second-to-last game of the season is a big no-no, especially considering they have one of the NBA’s biggest names on their roster.