6 Beloved Mavericks who crossed enemy lines to join hated NBA rivals

With Summer League over with and news being relatively dry during this part of the offseason for the Dallas Mavericks, what better of a time could it possibly be to look back at some former Mavericks that ended up switching teams to one of Dallas' rivals, as the Mavericks have let some elite players slip through the cracks to rivals teams over the years.

6 Mavericks players who joined hated NBA rivals after leaving Dallas

Some of these players may not even have joined Dallas' full-on rivals to a certain extent, but the way in which they left was a little conniving or dispiriting when they chose to cross enemy lines, so here are six former Mavericks that did Dallas dirty upon their transferring of squads.

Honorable Mentions: Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Rajon Rondo

Between all these players on the honorable mention list, they all were Mavericks at one point in their career and left to join a more tried-and-true contender after leaving Dallas in the twilight of Dirk Nowitzki's career. In Jason Kidd's instance, he nearly re-signed with Dallas to close his career, but ended up playing his final season for a New York Knicks team that went to the second round of the playoffs.

Derek Fisher ended up joining the Oklahoma City Thunder in the same season he played with the Mavericks for only nine games, and was an integral part of the Thunder's 2012 NBA Finals team after being released. Rajon Rondo may not have thrived with one of Dallas' rivals immediately after leaving, but he won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

6. Dorian Finney-Smith

While Dorian Finney-Smith will be considered a Maverick for life after developing into one of the best 3-and-D wings in the league in Dallas, Finney-Smith is writing his own path after being shipped from Dallas to the Brooklyn Nets after the Kyrie Irving trade.

Finney-Smith was then traded to the Lakers last season and played a huge role for them alongside Luka Doncic, but now he joins the Houston Rockets, who have been one of Dallas' most heated rivals in the Southwest Division since the Mavericks came into the league. While Finney-Smith will always be loved in Dallas, it won't be fun seeing him drain 3-pointers in a Rockets uniform at the American Airlines Center next season.

5. Harrison Barnes

After getting traded mid-game while playing for the Mavericks, Harrison Barnes has absolutely no obligation to help out the Mavericks in any way, and Barnes isn't doing so in any capacity by thriving as a versatile wing on an up-and-coming San Antonio Spurs team.

Barnes didn't go to San Antonio on his own volition after being traded there last summer, but he'll still be a headache for the Mavericks in four regular season matchups next season.

4. Jalen Brunson

While Jalen Brunson didn't join a rival necessarily, his exit from the Mavericks was very suspect, as his father is obviously still on the Knicks' coaching staff, and Brunson didn't feel like Dallas was giving a fair evaluation of the contract he desired.

Brunson was undoubtedly correct on that assumption and Dallas should've done everything in their power to keep him after an electric 2022 playoff run, but now he's an MVP candidate in New York.

3. Steve Nash

Yet another case of Mark Cuban being reluctant to pay an up-and-coming point guard was the case with Steve Nash in 2004, as Nash left Dallas for a better deal with the Phoenix Suns and went on to win two consecutive MVPs.

Not only will Mavericks always be lauding the potential success Nash and Nowitzki could've had together in Dallas, but Nash joined a fierce Western Conference rival in Phoenix.

2. DeAndre Jordan

When DeAndre Jordan flaked the Mavericks for the LA Clippers in 2015, it was easily the most drastic free agency turnaround in modern NBA history up to that point.

Jordan agreed to a deal with Dallas, but re-signed with LA before it could become official, and while he eventually came to Dallas for one season in 2018-19, Mavericks fans will never forgive him for this blunder.

1. Luka Doncic

It goes without saying that Doncic is the best Maverick to ever switch teams throughout his career, even if it wasn't his choice whatsoever.

He is now poised to lead one of Dallas' main rivals in the Lakers for years to come, as he already had a revenge-fueled 45-point homecoming in Dallas, and will be marking the Mavericks on his schedule anytime the two teams play against each other for the rest of his career. No one ever thought Doncic would be on this list a year ago, but now the Mavericks must enter this new era with full confidence in Cooper Flagg.