The Mavericks made a decision on Friday that gives them the best chance of protecting a valuable asset

They shifted gears and sat six key players, including Kyrie Irving and Luka Doni, for nearly three quarters.

The bottom line is that a top-10 draft pick is more valuable than a long-shot attempt in the play-in tournament and an even longer-shot attempt if they could have made the playoffs.

If they want to win championships, they must do everything possible to keep that draft pick.

It’s the same as protecting a star player when they’re injured. You do whatever is necessary.

The Mavericks were eliminated from postseason play after losing 115-112 to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Before the game, the team announced that Irving was one of five key players who would sit out against the Bulls, while Doni was benched after one quarter and one possession in the second quarter at American Airlines Center on “I Feel Slovenia Night.”

Coach Jason Kidd said it was a “organizational decision” to shift gears and focus on the franchise’s future rather than focusing on an Oklahoma City loss to Memphis on Sunday, which would have been required (along with two Mavericks wins) to qualify for the play-in tournament.

“It’s not so much waving the white flag,” Kidd explained after the game. “Decisions in this business can be difficult at times.” And you have to make difficult decisions, and we’re trying to build a championship team, so you have to step back from time to time.

“We have faith in (governor Mark) Cuban and Nico (Harrison, general manager) to put the pieces together to put us in position to win a championship, and we’re just getting started.”

This is not the first time this has occurred, nor will it be the last.

Before Friday’s game, Kidd explained how Doni’s desire to play until there was no hope of making the playoffs had to change to do whatever the Mavericks could to protect their first-round draft pick, which remains theirs only if it is in the top 10. Obviously, missing the playoffs helps that goal.

“Things change,” Kidd said before the game. “We still have to be professionals and go out there and put our best foot forward with who we have available to play.” We were fighting for our lives and realized we were in this situation.

“However, the organization has made a decision to change, and we must follow that.” That is a natural occurrence. We talked about it this afternoon, and the guys who are playing will go out and try to win. You must be professionals. The game cannot be cheated. So, those who are playing are there to win, and we’ll take it from there.”

The Mavericks’ decision was made on Friday, but it was rooted much earlier. Consider all of their bad losses to teams they felt they should have beaten in November, December, and January.

Or consider their eight losses in their last ten games over the last three weeks.

In addition to Irving (right foot), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle), Maxi Kleber (right hamstring), Josh Green (rest), and Christian Wood sat out on Friday (rest).

Luka’s availability stems not only from the large number of Slovenians in attendance, but also from his desire to play.

“He wanted to play,” Kidd said prior to the game. “With that in mind, we discussed the minutes, particularly with the other guys who aren’t playing.” That is how we came to an agreement. He was eager to play. In that first run, the minutes will be normal for him. He’s done from there.”

This is a significant shift from Tuesday, when Doni stated, “When there’s still a chance, I’m going to play.”

“We all said that,” Kidd said on Friday. We want the chance to find a way in, and we want to play until we are told otherwise. And today is the day that we’ve been told we’ll be doing something different. He’ll play in the first quarter and then be finished for the season.”

“Things move quickly here. He’ll play this quarter and then we’ll see where we stand heading into Sunday, but he’ll most likely be out.”

The Mavericks entered Friday’s game ranked 11th in the Western Conference. Teams finishing seventh through tenth place advance to the play-in tournament. Oklahoma City has one game left against Memphis on Sunday, but that game is now meaningless.

The loss on Friday effectively ended any potential drama on Sunday.

The Mavericks have been let down by the season’s turn since acquiring Irving before the February trade deadline. They entered Friday’s game with a 9-16 record since Irving’s debut on Feb. 8 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

They also believe they have the talent to do some damage in the playoffs if they could have made it. They got hot at the right time last year and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

There will be no such run this year.

Changes, according to Kidd, will occur during the offseason, as they do every year.

It will simply begin much earlier than the Mavericks had hoped.