We all know Mark Cuban. More for his commentary than anything else, but nonetheless, we all know who Mark Cuban is. We know of the highly advanced Dallas locker room, and the competitive drive that parallels his high expectations. In 2006, the Avery Johnson coached Mavericks went to the NBA Finals and were up two games to none against the Miami Heat. Then what happened? Oh yeah, Dwayne Wade happened.
Since then, it was almost as if the Mavericks never recovered. But Cuban remained hesitant and breaking up the core of the team, because they were that close back in 2006. Has recent struggles and un-energetic and seemingly non-motivated play this season draw the line for Cuban?
In that 2006 NBA Finals, the Mavericks had a starting line up of:
G - Devin Harris
G - Jason Terry
C - Desagnia Diop
F - Dirk Nowitzki
F- Josh Howard
And a good enough bench:
G - Jerry Stackhouse
C - Erick Dampier
F - Marquis Daniels
That team took the Mavs past the Spurs and everyone else and straight into a 2-0 lead, before completely collapsing in the Finals. But Cuban liked the dynamic and chemistry of his team, and refused to make any dramatic mix-ups. Last season, however, he thought adding a veteran presence in Jason Kidd would change it up. Cuban let Steve Nash sign with Phoenix in 2004, because he felt that Nash would slow down, and the prominence of Devin Harris would be enough. Just a few years later, that project proved to fail, as Devin Harris was traded last season at the trading deadline for Jason Kidd.
But the Mavericks struggled in implementing a new point guard into the Maverick offense, all while Jason Kidd and head coach Avery Johnson butted heads slightly. After another ousting in the playoffs, Cuban didn't budge, and kept the team intact, and the team began this season with a stronger roster than the Finals team, and a new experienced coach in RIck Carlisle.
Current Roster:
G - Jason Kidd
G - Antoine Wright
C - Erick Dampier
F - Dirk Nowitzki
F - Josh Howard
And a better, deeper bench than in 2006.
G - Jason Terry
F - Brandon Bass
F - Devean George
G - Gerald Green
C - Ryan Hollins
G - Jerry Stackhouse
* Jason Terry has missed a good number of games due to surgery on his hand just a few weeks ago, but recently has returned to action.
* Jerry Stackhouse has not played much of the season this year, after being an impactful player year after year.
But slowly, it seems as if the end of the Dallas Mavericks in their current state is coming.
During this year's trading deadline, many speculated that Josh Howard and/or Jerry Stackhouse would be moved, but alas, like every other team in the league, the Mavs did not make a big move.
But after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green - two of the teams' best three players - Cuban shared some thoughts about possibly making some moves. Yes, it was a scare tactic and a strong message to his players. And yes, it worked, as the Mavericks played well to follow up the Thunder loss with a 107-102 victory over the Spurs last night. But is that enough?
With a former MVP and franchise player like Dirk Nowitzi as the cornerstone of the franchise, Cuban has put strong pieces around him with Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. And at times, there are glimpses of incredible basketball, but those glimpses seem to be hard to come by as of late. With injuries hampering the team, the Mavericks have seemed to struggle all season long.
Currently, they are in 8th in the Western Conference, but only two games away from being in the 3rd seed, and if the Spurs struggle to end the season, the Mavericks could potentially even land in the 2nd spot when the playoffs start. But there's also a small chance that even a small bump in the road during the last 20 games could put them out of the playoffs with the Phoenix Suns right behind them (3 games back currently).
It's hard to decipher which team will end the season stronger, Dallas or Phoenix for the eighth team in the Western Conference playoffs, as both teams are struggling considerably. But I truly believe it is safe to say that regardless of making the playoffs, the Mavericks will not make it past the second round. And that will not sit well with Mark Cuban.
I think the time has finally come where Cuban will break up this Dallas Mavericks team this off-season. Along with the Pistons, these two teams have had the same nucleus of players for a good number of years, and this might be the finale for this Mavericks team. It's uncertain if Cuban will move Howard and Terry or if Cuban will admit to the failed project that is Jason Kidd, and send him elsewhere in a sign-and-trade. Or maybe he will realize that Dirk Nowitzki isn't the franchise player he had been looking for, and move him?
At the season's end, Jason Kidd, Brandon Bass and Gerald Green become unrestricted free agents. Will he bring them back?
Notable free agents this summer: Mike Bibby, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Al Harrington, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Hedo Turkoglu, Jermaine O'Neal, Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer.
Yes, Kobe Bryant has an early termination option in his contract, but I think it's safe to say he'll play it out and be a free agent the following season with Lebron and company.
But regardless, that is a big free agent class with some big names that Cuban could use to either re-build around Dirk, or start anew.
Either way, Cuban needs to start somewhere.
This is what happens when you cross me