Dallas Mavericks: What We Always Feared

Could the man responsible for the Mavericks success, also be responsible for their demise?

Old solutions might have become new problems for the Dallas Mavericks.

Although veterans won the Mavericks a championship in 2011, gambling with veterans might have finally cost Dallas a playoff run. The moment that has been dreaded by all Mavericks fans might finally be here, and the question is, what do we do?

There has always been a certain amount of risk with an owner like Mark Cuban. For the Dallas Mavericks, their roster has become like a hand of cards in a high stakes poker game – pieced together with some skill, knowledge, and a lot of luck.

This season, the Mavericks have only won nine games against playoff teams, after an embarrassing loss at home last night against the San Antonio Spurs, the all-star break for the Mavericks couldn’t come at a better time.

Since purchasing the Mavericks, Cuban has approached ownership with a very different perspective than most of his counterparts. Known for being very outspoken, Cuban rarely misses a Mavericks game. In some ways, he seems more like a die-hard fan than an NBA owner. And while his personality can be very appealing and exciting to fans, the very things that make Cuban popular, might be the same things that cause the Mavericks to collapse.

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Since 2011, the Mavericks have been judged and condemned by NBA analysts for their handling of free agency and the draft. Are the Mavericks woes a result of careless ownership? Or does Dallas just have really, really bad luck?

In my opinion, it seems like a little bit of both.

The NBA, like most professional sports, is flawed, and Mark Cuban is trying to play a version of basketball that is rare, hard to come by, and doesn’t fit into a league that idolizes superstars and marketability.

Player development rarely succeeds in the NBA. But is this the fault of the league or college? Almost two years ago, Cuban told ESPN Dallas, “The NCAA rules are so hypocritical, there’s absolutely no reason for a kid to go [to college], because he’s not going to class [and] he’s actually not even able to take advantage of all the fun because the first semester he starts playing basketball. So if the goal is just to graduate to the NBA or be an NBA player, go to the D-League.”

The question is why? Why are we not seeing more players like Draymond Green? Drafted 35th overall, Green has risen up as one of the leagues best power forwards while at the same time revolutionizing the power forward position – he’s only 6’7 and is playing a position that is usually dominated by 6’8-6’11 players. However, Green (four years of Michigan State) isn’t a product of the D-league, but a product of self-discipline, dedication and hard work.

Aside from Jeremy Lin‘s short lived stardom in New York (he’s currently wasting away in Charlotte), very rarely are we graced with the presence of a star who has been developed in the D-league and is able to find success outside of it.

With the 21st pick in the 2015 NBA, the Mavericks selected Justin Anderson from Virginia, but like many draft picks, Anderson has found little success outside of the D-league. It’s hard to know why this is the case, but with a coach like Rick Carlisle in charge, it’s probably because he isn’t ready for quality minutes in the NBA.

So Mavericks fans are left with two questions, will Anderson ever be ready? And if he wasn’t ready, why did we draft him 21st?

Cuban has shown that he is progressive and has vision. However, while he is respected in the league, the ideas of Dallas’ self-made billionaire aren’t always agreed with throughout the NBA.

There is no real solution to the Mavericks’ problems this season. Dallas is stuck in a veteran vacuum, and after being disrespected and spurned by DeAndre Jordan in the off-season, the Mavericks remain a star destination without any stars.

The truth is, the Mavericks have no one to trade.