The losses are piling up for the Dallas Mavericks.

Since beating the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 22, the Mavericks have dropped 18 of 20 games. They’ve already endured a 10-game losing streak and are now on an eight-game skid entering Thursday’s finale of a six-game road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies.

If you’re a Mavericks fan, this last month has been a slog — and the upcoming month probably will be, too.

Once this regular season is over, a lot of consequential decisions need to be made. Governor Patrick Dumont needs to hire a lead basketball executive. The Mavericks, who are likely to control a top-10 pick, understand they need someone in place ahead of the draft.

The Mavericks’ business side is also expected to make a decision on a new arena location by July. The Mavericks will move there once the team’s lease expires at American Airlines Center in 2031.

In many ways, the decisions the Mavericks make over the next few months will define their next 10 years. A big thank you to our subscribers who submitted questions for this mailbag. Let’s get to them.

(Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)

What do you see as the largest question for the team this summer? What current players fit into the team’s planning for building around Cooper Flagg? Do you think there is a possibility that Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi remain as co-GMs next year? — Terry C.

The search for Nico Harrison’s successor at general manager is the most important issue the Mavericks must resolve in the coming months. Whomever Dumont picks is going to be tasked with shaping the Mavericks’ roster in the Cooper Flagg era. My sense in conversations with NBA front office people is that the combination of Flagg and deep-pocketed ownership (Miriam Adelson is worth an estimated $42.2 billion, according to Bloomberg) makes this an attractive opening.

I can’t confidently tell you which players fit into this team’s future, because I don’t know who will be making the basketball decisions three months from now. I can tell you that the power structure currently in place thinks highly of Naji Marshall and Max Christie, both of whom will make less than $10 million next season. And I can tell you that, as of right now, the Mavericks view Kyrie Irving as a big piece of the puzzle next season (more on that in a moment).

I anticipate the Mavericks will name a permanent lead basketball executive no later than June. My understanding is that Dumont wants someone in place to run the draft. Dallas controls its first-round pick, plus the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round pick as a result of the Anthony Davis trade. Those are big decisions, especially with so much of the Mavericks’ draft future from 2027 to 2030 already controlled by other teams.

Cooper Flagg (32) and the Dallas Mavericks have a lot of questions to answer between now and next season. (Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)

Yes, Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley will be under consideration for the permanent GM job. The Mavericks view both as internal candidates. Considering the dreary circumstances, I think they did well in sending three players on bad contracts — Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Jaden Hardy — to the Washington Wizards.

That said, I believe experience will greatly matter in this search. The Mavericks will interview candidates outside the organization who have previously run the show. One of the first moves Dumont made on the Mavericks’ business side was convincing Rick Welts to come out of retirement and become the team’s CEO. Welts, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2018, previously was in charge of the Phoenix Suns’ and Golden State Warriors’ business departments. On the basketball side, I think Dumont will want someone who, like Welts, has been there and done it before.

What’s Kyrie’s future with this team, especially if they end up drafting one of the PGs this year? — Chris R.

Assuming Kyrie Irving wants to be with the Mavericks next season — and I have no reason to believe otherwise — I think he’ll be back. I feel strongly about this for two reasons:

The Mavericks have no choice but to be as competitive as possible next season, because they owe their 2027 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets.
Dallas, right now ranked 29th in offense, badly needs a guard who can make jump shots, bend defenses and find teammates for open looks.

Even if the Mavericks use their pick to draft a guard this summer, it still makes sense to bring back Irving. The San Antonio Spurs are an example of how beneficial it can be to have multiple ballhandlers. Over one year, the Spurs drafted Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, and traded for De’Aaron Fox.

Harper, the No. 2 pick in June, has been coming off the bench for San Antonio this season. That arrangement has worked out well. Obviously, Harper will be a starter at some point, but playing with other talented guards — and MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama — has allowed him to contribute to winning right away. What better experience is there than that?

I could see a scenario where the Mavericks take a guard first and bring him off the bench next year. Let Irving get those starting reps while the lead guard of the future develops.

Again, the Mavericks don’t have the option of slow-playing it with Flagg’s timeline. They have to send next year’s first-round pick to the Hornets as payment for the P.J. Washington trade, and their 2028 first-rounder is tied up in a pick swap with the Thunder. The Mavericks need Irving back.

What is ownership doing to restore fan trust? Seems most (or all) of their decision making revolves around making and saving money, with or without fan interest in mind. Is the new arena just gonna be a big corporate box in the ’burbs? — Peter W.

If you asked the Mavericks this question, one of the first things they’d point to is their decision not to raise season-ticket prices ahead of next season. During the team’s Feb. 27 game against the Sacramento Kings, Welts said on the team’s broadcast that Dumont has acknowledged the Mavericks “didn’t deliver this year” and instructed his staff to keep rates flat.

The Mavericks understandably received backlash last year when they announced that season-ticket rates were increasing by an average of 8.61 percent weeks after they made the Luka Dončić trade.

In general, the rate at which Mavericks ownership raises ticket prices over the next five years is something to watch. Former majority owner Mark Cuban cared deeply about affordability to the point that he undercharged on tickets, multiple Mavericks employees told The Athletic last year. On social media, Cuban has said the team was profitable twice in his 23 years of ownership. “Lost hundreds of millions of dollars,” Cuban wrote. Under Dumont, I don’t think it will be acceptable for the Mavericks to consistently finish so deep in the red.

On the arena front, we know that Mavericks ownership controls a large plot of land in Irving, Texas, just outside of Dallas. However, Welts has consistently messaged that the Mavericks want to remain in Dallas. The Mavericks are likely to choose either a downtown location or head north and build next to Interstate 635. Former Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings recently argued in an editorial that the city must not waste a chance to build a new arena and surrounding entertainment district downtown. I found his argument compelling.

The Cowboys and Rangers are already in Arlington, Texas. The Stars, once their lease is up at American Airlines Center in 2031, could be headed for the suburbs. It would be a bummer if none of the Metroplex’s four biggest pro sports teams were a part of Dallas’ urban core.

I was wondering if you knew or could ask Kidd or Cooper about the lack of 3s he takes. Is that a directive from the coaching staff or just his decision? Feels like that’s one of his biggest problems as a player right now that doesn’t get talked about quite enough. — Jacob R.

It’s been a blast to watch Flagg’s rookie season. His competitiveness is off the charts. No one on Dallas’ roster runs back harder than him on defense. Flagg’s ability to drive and finish with either hand has stood out, as well. He’s so good with his left in particular. I think his passing ability would pop even more if the Mavericks actually had shooting around him.

Flagg’s outside shot is obviously one of the few weaknesses in his game. With 53 games under his belt, he’s shooting 29.9 percent from the 3-point line on 3.5 attempts per contest. In December, I asked Mavericks coach Jason Kidd about Flagg’s 3-point volume. What is the right balance between Flagg driving and letting jumpers go?

“When you play to your strengths in this league, you can have a lot of success,” Kidd said. “Cooper is getting to the midrange, being able to attack the rim and getting to the free-throw line. When you’re doing that, it can elevate you to being one of the best in the league.

“He’s learning the game. We’re not telling him not to shoot 3s, because he’s going to be able to do that, too. But what is his biggest strength today? That’s what he’s playing to right now, and that’s being able to get into the paint.”

I sense the Mavericks want Flagg to take open 3s but not contested ones. His 3-point volume is reasonable for a player shooting at a sub-30 percent rate. It’s a safe bet that Flagg will improve his outside shot in the future. His 80.4 percent conversion rate on free throws is a sign that he’s got good touch.