After making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals the year prior, plenty of folks had high expectations for the Dallas Mavericks heading into the 2022-23 NBA campaign. And those expectations became even higher once the Mavs traded for point guard Kyrie Irving before the 2023 trade deadline. But fast forward to the current day, and it's evident that the Mavs fell short of expectations.

The Dallas Mavericks 2022-23 regular season was a disaster. Dallas finished the regular season with a sub-par 38-44 record, just the 11th-best in the Western Conference, and missed out on the NBA postseason entirely. If this season taught the Mavs anything, it's that this group, as currently constructed, is very flawed, and changes need to be made this summer.

A few shrewd free-agent signings here and there, and the Mavericks could re-establish themselves as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, though. It's not like Dallas needs to rebuild — they just need to re-tool around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. With all of that said, here are the two best Mavs targets in free agency after the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night:

2 best Mavs targets in free agency after 2023 NBA Draft

Josh Hart

One of the biggest reasons for the Mavs' underwhelming season was their inability to get stops. The Mavericks really lacked elite defenders on their roster, especially after trading Dorian Finney-Smith to the Brooklyn Nets in the Kyrie Irving trade.

Enter Josh Hart, a Knicks wing who was one of the best defenders at his position in the entire NBA this season. With the Knicks, he was a constant threat to come up with steals and blocks, as he averaged 1.9 combined stocks across 25 appearances for New York. He embraced the opportunity of guarding the best player on the opposing team night in and night out.

While Josh Hart's defensive chops are maybe his most valuable skill, he brings so much more to the table than simply great perimeter defense. He's also an elite rebounder and facilitator for his position (he grabbed 7.8 rebounds and dished out 3.8 dimes per contest this season with the Blazers and Knicks), plus a more than capable floor spacer, as he converted 37.2% of his three-point attempts during the regular season.

All in all, Josh Hart would fit this Mavericks team like a glove on both ends of the court.

Christian Wood

Christian Wood had himself an up-and-down year in his first season in Dallas. Head coach Jason Kidd didn't give him consistent playing time, largely due to his inconsistency as a defender. But there's no denying that Wood is one of the more talented offensive players of his size in the league.

Wood put up big scoring numbers off of the bench for the Mavs in the 2022-23 season. He scored 16.6 points per game, the third-highest scoring average on the team, behind only Doncic and Irving. And not only did Wood put up points in bunches, but he also did so with great scoring efficiency. He shot 51.5% from the field and 37.6% from behind the three-point arc in 67 games with the Mavericks.

At this juncture, it's unclear who the Dallas Mavericks will decide to target and add to their team in free agency this summer. But what's already abundantly clear is that they should try to sign New York Knicks forward Josh Hart and re-sign big man Christian Wood.