Dallas Mavericks fans need a reminder that we are having a good summer

The Dallas Mavericks fanbase is getting harder and harder to please every summer. No matter what the front office does, no one will be satisfied in the summer and yet they are some of the most optimistic fans during the season. Let’s try to analyze this very interesting dynamic.

In the 2010-11 NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks put together an unbelievable run through the playoffs and into their very first NBA Championship. The 2011 championship team for Dallas was a great team full of good players. There run was improbable as much as it was incredible. However, the front office believed that this success was unsustainable.

That was when Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson decided to blow up the team and go searching for the newest All-stars to join forces with Dirk Nowitzki. The plan failed for the next several years and Mavs fans were outraged (and rightfully so). This cycle went on for years as Dallas struck out with Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, DeAndre Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, and Mike Conley, most notably.

In the summer before the 2016-17 season began, Dallas decided to embrace the tanking efforts and did not chase any players in free agency aside from restricted free agent, Harrison Barnes. The roster was simply the same vets who had stuck it out for years, along with a bunch of young guys trying to get a real look in the NBA. Once again, Mavs fans were upset that Dallas didn’t even elect to try and pry some smaller contract players away in hopes of building a team around them.

This season went as expected and the Mavericks found themselves with a lottery pick in the draft. As luck would have it, Dennis Smith Jr., a guy who was not expected to drop all the way to pick #9, became a Dallas Maverick that day. The Mavs once again decided that the best plan of action would be to tank another year in hopes of landing a big fish in 2018. Mavs fans were upset that they did not even look at some guys to fill future roster spots.

This summer, Dallas made probably the best moves in over a decade, trading up to get possibly the best player in the draft. They weren’t done, either, as the Mavs then had their biggest free agent signing in some time, bolstering the above-the-rim presence to a level Dallas has possibly never seen.DeAndre Jordan is not just great at finishing lobs and blocking shots, he is also a great rebounder.

Once again, Dallas was not satisfied with only the addition of Luka Doncic and DeAndre Jordan. “They could’ve used their cap more wisely.” “Why didn’t we offer DeMarcus Cousins more?” How are we going to win without the shooting of Seth Curry and Doug McDermott?”

Are these valid concerns for the Mavs? Maybe. But the truth is that the Mavs made some really important and impressive moves this summer. People are so focused on what they didn’t do or what other teams did that they forgot what Dallas did in the process. And what Dallas did is they brought back a real possibility for the team to be back in the playoff picture this year.

Were there more effective ways to use the cap? Yeah, probably. Is Boogie Cousins a worthy endeavor, despite his injury? Sure, but he wouldn’t help the team much this year. Will Dallas miss their main three-point shooters? Perhaps a little bit, but not nearly as much as people want to believe.

Dallas has had a heck of a summer and it started with the building blocks put in place over the past few years. I am still sad that the championship team didn’t get the chance to defend their title and the years after that, Dallas took the wrong approach with the wrong mentality. Fans need to forget all of that, because the front office has proven for three years in a row that they know what they’re doing.

Next: Dallas Mavericks: The DeAndre Jordan effect

This season will be the icing on the cake for the team. So cheer up MFFLs. Things are going great right now.