As the Dallas Mavericks continue to watch their season spiral down the drain, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison diagnosed what hasn't worked since trading for all-star guard Kyrie Irving a few days before the trade deadline. 

Harrison, in a recent Q&A with the Dallas Morning News, chalked up the disappointing results to something relatively simple — the two stars haven't jelled. 

The reason for the lack of cohesion between the stars is partly due to untimely injuries to Doncic and Irving, as well as the lack of support from the Mavericks' role players, who have often struggled to make open shots when one of Irving or Doncic command double teams. 

"When we made the trade, we expected those two guys — Kyrie and Luka — to jell by now, so that’s definitely below expectations," Harrison said to the Dallas Morning News. "I’m not even saying they haven’t jelled, but the team — they haven’t had enough minutes together to jell. Kyrie was out, Luka was out, one played [and then] the other played, so we’re behind where we wanted to be."

Though the results haven't been as savory — the Mavericks hold a 4-9 record when Irving and Doncic play — Harrison sees some level of continuity in the organization process. 

If the Mavericks could have managed more minutes with the two starts together, Harrison explained that the success he theorized before making the trade most likely would have materialized. 

"But those two work. Like, two guys at that level work," he said."Then it’s how these guys around them — how do they fit in and play off them? That’s the tougher thing. You’ve got all this analytical data to say these lineups work, but guess what? Since the trade, we haven’t had consistent players out there, so it’s tough to say, like, absolute which lineups work because it’s very little minutes that they’ve all played together because it’s been change after change after change."

And Harrison does have a point. A few weeks ago, ironic enough against the Philadelphia 76ers in a home bout, Irving and Doncic looked unbeatable. Their wizardry forced Philadelphia to make unimaginable decisions, leaving Dallas' spot-up shooters open. And Irving and Doncic made the right play seemingly every time. 

Compared to now, then, when the Mavericks handle the 76ers at home, feels like a different season. 

Distant memories. Constant what-ifs. Still, Harrison is holding on to the potential present with the pairing. 

"The potential is limitless," he said. "I think you have a Ferrari and a monster truck, you know what I’m saying? Both are amazing and awesome machines, but different styles, which makes us super dynamic. They can play off each other. They can play with each other. The combinations are limitless, really, and there’s not that many players in the league that are as good as those two are." 

Getting Doncic and Irving to reach their full potential isn't something that really is reliant solely on them. It also falls on Harrison's shoulders to find the right role players to make this roster work. 

That is something he has failed at this season. Between the lack of competent front-line play. The Christian Wood debacle. And the coaching questions, the Mavericks' general manager has a summer full of tough decisions ahead of him. 

Central to that is bringing Irving back on a long-term contract. And there, the jury is still out. 

But that is a discussion best tabled for another day. The Mavericks have five games left, and even if they win all of the remaining contests, Dallas needs help from other teams to sneak in the backdoor of the NBA's play-in tournament. A situation previously thought impossible with two of the NBA's best offensive players is very much the reality for the Mavericks in a season that has provided expectation-busting lows. 

"Everybody knows we’re fighting to get into this playoffs," he said. "I just think every game we’ve got to continue to make strides. Even if players aren’t healthy, we don’t have any choice. We have to go. That’s why I say we have high-character guys. Nobody’s feeling sorry for themselves. They’re positive guys, and they’re hard-working guys. They’re high-character guys, so we’ll figure it out. Hopefully, we figure it out sooner or later. The clock’s on us."