An artist in the Dallas area decided to paint a mural of the Mavericks star player, Luka Doncic. The mural had a list of Luka's eye-popping stats with a picture of him, holding a sign that said, "PLEASE SEND HELP." Apparently, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was not too thrilled about it. Sometimes, you have to see the writing on the wall. You know, since it was literally on the wall. Sorry, I digress.
In over 20 years of owning Dallas's NBA team, Mr. Shark Tank has had a reputation of ruffling feathers. He sits at courtside at Mavs games and is one to egg on referees during games and after games. He has accumulated almost $2 million in fines by the league and is willing to match the amount and give it to charity. Also, under his ownership, the Mavericks are a winning franchise. He had a European legend in Dirk Nowitzki and now has a European legend in Luka Doncic. They won the freaking NBA championship against the Heatles in 2011 and Mark Cuban has done everything in his power to keep the Dallas Mavericks afloat.
Unfortunately, Mark Cuban is also holding them back. Take the 2022 playoffs for example. The Mavs came back from a 3-2 deficit to take the series from the Phoenix Suns to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Despite losing to the Warriors, Dallas had reached a plateau in which they could reach higher and higher. Luka had a teammate that he could build a lethal one-two punch with in Jalen Brunson. He was a free-agent and many thought the Mavericks were going to give him a deal. He ended up signing with the Knicks and was a key contributor to New York's playoff run this season. Dallas faltered and missed the postseason. This has been a theme for Cuban.
The 2011 championship team had some free agents and the Mavericks could have easily re-signed them for another run at a title. Alas, Tyson Chandler was traded for nothing, Jose Barea signed with Minnesota and Caron Butler went to the Clippers as Dallas fell to seventh in the conference and were swept in the first round. Cuban and former GM Donnie Nelson's plan was to get the best free-agents in the next few years. Names like Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Carmello Anthony and hell, even LeBron James were on the radar for Dallas. They struck out on all four. Even when they had a commitment in bringing in a big name in DeAndre Jordan, it was thwarted at the last second by the Clippers and holding him hostage at his own house.
Out of all of this, the one move that Mark Cuban has said he regrets was letting Steve Nash go in 2004. Nowitzki and Nash were taking the Mavericks out of the cellar and to the top of the Western Conference by the time Cuban purchased the team. In 2004, Nash was nearing 30 and Cuban wanted to build the team around Dirk. In a way, it made sense and I get why he did it. The Phoenix Suns snagged Nash and he became a two-time MVP as they leapfrogged the Mavericks in the standings. Many have said that losing Steve Nash was the reason Dallas didn't win a championship sooner.
The Dallas Mavericks are one of the most profitable franchises in sports because of Mark Cuban and they should be thankful for him. But due to missed opportunities, he is also holding them back. Let's hope the Kyrie/Luka dynamic can prosper.
(References: NBA.com, ESPN, Wikipedia, Sports Reference, Mavericks.com, Sports Illustrated, USA Today)
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