The Dallas Mavericks received their solely title in 2011, however one missed free company signing may have helped the franchise be a premier crew of the 2000s.
Within the 2000s, the Western Convention was dominated by the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.
Within the decade, both the Spurs or the Lakers made it to the Finals each single yr except for 2006, when the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Miami Warmth. The Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, and even the Sacramento Kings had been playoff staples between 2000 and 2010, though the convention ran via San Antonio and Los Angeles.
Had the Mavericks managed to re-sign a star in 2004, they may have been in a position to construct a dynasty of their very own.
Through the 2003-04 season, the Mavericks misplaced within the first spherical of the playoffs to the Kings. That summer season, they’d lose Steve Nash in free company to the Suns.
Nash and Dirk Nowitzki had established themselves as the most effective offensive duos within the league, and as Shaq and Kobe ended their run, the Mavericks appeared poised to take the Lakers’ spot on the prime of the standings.
Nevertheless, the Suns had been keen to pay Nash greater than the Mavericks, and he bounced in free company.
“Mark Cuban was satisfied that sturdiness considerations would catch as much as Steve Nash,” defined former Mavericks’ beat author Marc Stein. “So Mark Cuban set a restrict in his head. He was solely going to go 4 years, $36 million. So the Suns supply two years and $30 million higher.”
Nash took the cash, and it’s arduous to not blame him. He would go on to win back-to-back MVPs in his first two seasons with the Suns, though he would by no means make the NBA Finals.
Whereas Nash was in a position to run a fast-paced offense with Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Joe Johnson, he by no means once more performed with as versatile of a scorer as Dirk, who led the Mavericks to their lone title in 2011.
On the finish of the day, the Suns had been merely keen to pay extra, breaking apart one of many higher duos the league has ever seen earlier than they might even really get off the bottom.
“The Suns put such a substantial supply on the desk, and Mark Cuban didn’t need to elevate his supply,” Stein defined. “How do you say no to an additional $30 million to return to the crew that drafted you?”
With Nash, the Mavericks made the playoffs in 4 out of 5 years, averaging 52 wins per season, though they struggled within the playoffs in opposition to one of the best groups.
With out Nash, it took the Mavericks a number of seasons to get better. Whereas they made the playoffs in each season till 2013, they grew to become the third first-seed to lose to an eighth-seed, falling to the We Consider Golden State Warriors in 2007, the yr Dirk received MVP.
Whereas Nash discovered greater than his justifiable share of particular person success in Phoenix, the Mavericks may have taken the mantle from the Lakers had he stayed in Dallas. Cuban refused to shell out, and he rapidly regretted it.
“It was Steve’s selection to depart for cash. It was my selection to not pay him the cash,” defined Cuban in 2004.
Whereas buying and selling away Luka Doncic to the Lakers is perhaps the largest blunder in franchise historical past, the fallout is but to be really revealed, and for now, the largest “what if” in crew historical past stays their 2004 free company loss.
