[1] During the offseason, the Mavericks acquired Antawn Jamison from the Golden State Warriors, and All-Star forward Antoine Walker from the Boston Celtics.
[2][3] Although the team struggled with chemistry with a 15–12 start, the Mavericks went on a nine-game winning streak in January, and won eight of their final ten games.
Notable were two rookies, Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, who made an immediate impact, and were both selected to the All-Rookie Second Team.
However, the Mavericks were eliminated quickly four games to one in the playoffs, losing in the first round to their archrivals the Sacramento Kings.
Following the season, Nash signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns, Walker was traded to the Atlanta Hawks and later returned to the Boston Celtics in midseason, and Jamison was dealt to the Washington Wizards.