Cuban turns team back around
In praise of Mark Cuban?
No, really.
In the wake of his team’s resurgence since beating everyone else to the Wizards’ Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, you have to give it to the Mavericks’ maverick madcap owner.
For four years in which his team slid down the West standings, looking like it was headed for the last roundup, Cuban never lost interest, stopped going all out or winced at the millions he was losing.
Now with Butler, a reasonable facsimile of what Josh Howard once was, and Haywood, who’s younger and healthier, not to mention far more attractive as a free agent than Erick Dampier, who only lives up to his promise in contract years, they’re a real contender again, along with the Nuggets, in a conference once thought to belong to the Lakers.
I actually like Cuban, even if he has the impulse control of a newborn, can charm you one moment, go off on you the next, and should have his picture in the dictionary next to presumptuous,” having started offering to help David Stern reinvent the NBA from the day he crossed the line from boisterous fan to loose cannon, or loose aircraft carrier owner.
Nevertheless, for Maverick fans, Cuban has always been a great owner, caring nothing about huge losses, seeking only to win. His players love him. Dirk Nowitzki will be a free agent this summer but no one talks about him because everyone knows he won’t leave Cuban and Mark won’t let him go. Shaquille O’Neal always had a warm spot in his heart for Cuban, even as the Mavericks lampooned him as Fat Albert on their scoreboard TV screen.
For the press, Cuban is accessible, fun and way smarter than you about stuff he knows about, which covers a lot of ground, if not as much as he thinks.
Daffy as he is, his choices have usually been well-thought-out and, amazingly, coolly logical. He gave Don Nelson a new contract when they had already had it with each other, which was the thing to do but didn’t work out.
Nelson’s replacement, Avery Johnson, took them to the Finals and a 67-win season, Rick Carlisle, Johnson’s replacement, kept them together when it looked like they could come apart.
Nevertheless, the tide seemed to be going out on the Mavericks from their zenith in the 2006 Finals, when they won the first two games and led by 12 lead in the last 8:13 of Game 3, before collapsing.
Cuban’s emotions looked like they were part of that, a big part, or the cause. After losing Game 4 in Miami, the team abruptly switched hotels. Johnson got defensive in press conferences. Cuban went batbleep over the officiating in Game 5. After the series, even Nowitzki said the owner needed to chill out.
Consider him chilled. Well, for Mark Cuban, anyway.
He remained relatively lucid from that season to this one, even as everything went south, starting with their 67-15 finish in 2006-07, before they were undressed in the first round by the No. 8 seeded Warriors and Cuban’s former coach and new arch-enemy, Nelson.
The next season, they looked like the destination of choice for Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal, only to see Phoenix grab him first. With the Lakers sprinting away, having just acquired Pau Gasol, the Mavs then grabbed New Jersey’s Jason Kidd, completing the series of deals that almost sunk the rest of the West.
The Suns and Mavs just got it backwards. O’Neal would have been a natural fit with the Mavericks, Kidd with the Suns.
It looked like a mistake that would finish off both contenders.
With Kidd, the Mavs limped in at 51-31, were ousted in a five-game first round series by New Orleans—this time it wasn’t even an upset—and fired Johnson.
Under Carlisle, they remained respectable, if nothing more last season and the first half of this one… until Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson pulled off the trade with Washington, which was bound and determined to give its best players to anyone who’d take their big salaries.
Cleveland got Antawn Jamison. The Mavs got Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood.
In the first three weeks after their new players arrived, the Mavs and Cavs lost three games combined, and LeBron James sat out one of those.
Eight games behind the Lakers at the All-Star break, the Mavericks have been closing in, getting to within 2½ and now clearly pose a threat to the staggering defending champions.
Fortunately for the Lakers, before the Mavs can get to them, they’ll pose a threat to the Nuggets.
If Dallas and Denver finished No. 2 and 3, in whatever order, they’ll be on track to meet in the West finals, with the Lakers only obliged to deal with the winner.
It’s still the best chance the Mavericks have had recently and one more than anyone figured they’d have this season, aside from Cuban.
Of course, Cuban sees a move like this coming every season. He’s Mark Cuban, after all.
james Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 11:09 am
see, you write that jason kidd would be a perfect fit in phoenix… how do you work for this website? do you just write things for the sake of the way they sound? how would nash and kidd split time? neither one is a shooting guard? this article has made me hate this website, you just lost a fan.
next time you try to be smooth and nostalgic, you should think. the sad thing is that you obviously read this more than once when you were drafting it, so that means you did think. so that means…wow…you write for a basketball website, yet, your knowledge is inferior to your readers…wow.
jkidd and nash in the same backcourt=perfect fit according to hoopshype.com!
hdhgfd Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 11:30 am
As a Laker’s fan it’s hard to say this. I like Mark Cuban. He speaks out against the worst refs in any major sport. I still give the Mavericks / Heats championship to the Mavericks. One of the worst called series ever. EVER! EVER! EVER! Except for the Pistons winning the title over the Lakers in 04. Mark Cuban stood up for the Lakers (a team he hates) and called out the horrible officiating. You have to respect that.
Brian Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 11:51 am
don’t ever confuse the suns with my mavs again, thanks
newkidd07 Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 12:42 pm
Where there a couple of typos in this? I thought it said that Kidd would have been more of a natural fit for Phoenix. Is there really a need for Kidd & Nash to be on the same team? Then in the next sentence, it said that Kidd took the Suns to the playoffs & Johnson got fired. Did I miss something?
Jay Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
What a waste article. You could have said after a bad trade last trade deadline, Mark Cuban learned and got it right.
hhh Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 1:41 pm
Wade should give him his ring. Bennett Salvatore should present it.
james Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 2:04 pm
You said : “With Kidd, the Suns limped in at 51-31, were ousted in a five-game..”
You meant : “With Kidd, the Mavericks limped in at 51-31, were ousted in a five-game..”
Metin Kirhan Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 2:13 pm
Nice article. Keep in mind, guys, Mavs and Nuggets both posted lopsided wins (each one twice) against the Lakers. I know playoff time is different, but Lakers won’t be comfortable this year. Even if they win the West, they can get blown out by Cavs or Orlando.
I won’t be surprised if Mavs or Nuggets make the Finals. (C)avs vs. (M)avs would be very intriguing although not as much as Lebron vs. Kobe drama.
John Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 4:43 pm
The suns didnt get Kidd and limp into the playoffs, it was the Mavs. And dont you mean west semis mavs vs nuggets??
Don Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
Nash and Kidd would make an amazing backcourt, great point gaurds dont need the ball in their hands to be effective. Plus phoenix runs all day which i think is what he was getting at
Danny Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
Kidd and Nash played together in Phoenix 96-97. Didn’t work out that good.
Of course that was before Nash became a superstar.
Zane Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 9:30 pm
Disagree. Suns didn’t need Kidd or Shaq! They should have just kept the team and style they had seeing they were destined to go deep into the playoffs again. They are now at the stage where they are trying to get back to where they were! Steve Kerr should have been fired for this awful decision to completely change the identity of the team halfway thru the season, and they lost D’Antoni not long later.
Agree Cuban is the best owner in the NBA and perhaps all sports. I’ve heard many accusations like he isn’t a basketball guy and this and that, but he has been one of the best GMs in the game. He is basically living out a dream for guys like us who are also fans of the sport. He’s pulled off some great trades and free agents over the years, and the Mavs have been very competitive ever since he bought the team. Players want to play there because he is the owner.
I hope Micheal Jordan can do the same thing for Charlotte.
With this latest trade I personally think they can beat LA, Cavs, or anyone this year - 12 game winning streak and going and they are only going to get better as chemistry develops. They are now a matchup nightmare! Look out NBA here come the Mavs.
Zane Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 10:26 pm
Dallas has everything they need to win a championship this season. Have a look at the roster Cuban has put together:
PG Kidd, Barea
SG Butler, Terry, Stevenson, Beaubois, Carrol
SF Marion, Najera
PF Nowitzki, Tim Thomas
C Haywood, Dampier
The roster is loaded. They have multiple players that can play multiple positions - Butler SG/SF, Marion SF/PF, Terry SG/PG, Stevenson SG/SF. They can go big, small, defensive or offensive, they can create matchup nightmares for any team. They have one of the best coaches in the game to make use of this roster in Rick Carlisle, who will also push them to play defence and rebound.
They have multiple guys they can depend on in the 4th quarter in Kidd, Terry, Butler and Nowitzki even Marion. This is a veteran, mentally tough team of players. They have defensive presence on the perimeter/Kobe stoppers (Stevenson/Butler/Kidd), and interior (Haywood), to go along with a potent offence. They have great rebounders. They are now the deepest team in the league, they go 14 players deep, any one of these guys are capable of putting up 20 points any given night.
Mark Cuban being as active as he is as an owner, should also be taken as an edge for the Mavericks. If the guy paying your wages is sitting behind you rather than in the box, encouraging you, its going to push you harder and further. Its like any other business, the more active you are as an owner, the more success the business will have. Cuban knows this.
Mavs have the best all around roster in the league at this point, thanks to Mark Cuban.
Craig Bailey Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 11:41 pm
I must admit, in my opinion the Mavericks are only real threat to beat the Lakers in the West. Im still not sold on the Nuggets bcuz their team is full of hot heads and u get them frustrated in a series then its a wrao for them. Also its still the regular season and for all we kno the Mavericks could be the flavor of the month. So until they prove they can beat L.A i wont believe. My Lakers have proven that they can turn it around come playoff time. The Mavs want it, they can bring it. they better hope the Lakers dont start playing ball like they need to be b cuz then theyre unbeatable. And Cleveland wont beat whomever comes out of the West with their style of play.
Craig Bailey Said,
March 10, 2010 @ 11:43 pm
And Zane, did u say Kobe Stoppers?? You cant be serious… smh. theres no such thing
Zane Said,
March 11, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
True - they were calling Matt Barnes a Kobe stopper the other day and he still almost dropped 30 and flirted with a triple-double. Stevenson and Butler can play a similar role against Kobe tho, be physical and get him out of rythym - but yes, there’s nobody that can really stop him, but if anyone is going to beat the Lakers its going to be the Mavericks not the Nuggets.
Lakers have the better starting lineup, but the Mavs are deeper and can create matchup nightmares for LA, this is key. Ron Artest is the X-factor, if he can get comfortable in the triangle and start putting up points before the regular season ends, they are going to be tough to beat.
Nuggets record is inflated due to their strength of schedule so far, they rank near the top of having the easiest schedule so far in the league. I expect them to skid into the playoffs. Yes they have beaten some good teams but have lost a 4 or 5 games to bottom feeder teams also.
Bryan Said,
March 12, 2010 @ 1:05 pm
I still hope we can get STeve back with Dallas again and if Kidd is here at the same time and without giving anyone too valuable up. This would indeed be interessting given the shooting skills both have combined with a bigger Dallas front court.
Jhonnny Jhakke Harmaledeegington Said,
March 16, 2010 @ 7:41 am
lakers should hire lawrence frank coach next year and sign good or average point guard maybe like Chris Duhon and trade walton
Bhavik Patel Said,
March 18, 2010 @ 8:34 am
Mark Cuban is probably the best owner in the NBA. We all know this doesn’t really mean anything. He spends millions, but he has made some pretty bad decisions over the years. For example, giving Eric Dampier a 66 million dollar contract, but not matching Steve Nash’s contract that Suns offered him. Steve Nash became the MVP of the league the following two seasons. I blame this on his basketball people. I think he is willing to do everything it takes to win. The Mavericks are a great franchise, but the two best run franchises were the Spurs and Pistons if you don’t consider the past 2 seasons. This is because these teams basically built championship caliber teams without big spending. The Laker’s can get a way with big spending cause they have probably the best or second best TV deal in the league. They also have the best player in the league, big media market and the best branding in basketball. The Mavericks have always been competitive because their payroll has been sky eye. If you look at it in that regard, I think they always under achieve. They choked against the Heat and their best regular season didn’t mean anything with a first round defeat. Spending or trading doesn’t always give you a championship especially in today’s NBA market. Yes if you can spend why not right? Thing is everybody has a limit on spending even Mark Cuban. Why not spend wisely than? I think the problem with the Mavericks is they jump to decisions to quickly and try to get better way to fast. This once again is to blame their basketball people. For example, look at the Spurs they don’t make big trades all the time. They built their teams around drafting great international players. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and even Luis Scola were all drafted by the spurs. The best European center in Europe is Tiago Splitter. Who holds his draft rights? The Spurs. Even when the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, they patiently waited for the right move. They had many opportunities to trade for Baron Davis, and even Steve Francis. They didn’t pull the trigger though cause they had doubt in the decision. Jason Kidd is a great player, but Maveriks gave up way to much money and assets in that trade. My point all together is? Yes this trade for Butler, Haywood looks great on paper once again, but will it make the Mavericks the next NBA champions. Will Josh Howard be the next MVP of the league? As Charles Barkley once wrote a book ” I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I DOUBT IT”.
Sports Said,
April 10, 2010 @ 3:23 am
I think Nelson should be added to the Basketball Hall of Fame for his amazing achievements. I know not everyone likes him, but the guy has won more games as coach than anyone else. You can’t get a better argument than that, right? After all, that is the whole point of being a coach - to win games. Some sports bloggers listed on http://www.dozensports.com/ say Nelson doesn’t deserve the praise. But I say, get him in the Hall of Fame where he belongs. It is surely a travesty that this great coach is not given his rightful honor and place in basketball history.