Jalen Brunson's Finals berth is a harsh reminder of what has plagued the Mavericks

With a 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, the New York Knicks and former Dallas Maverick Jalen Brunson punched their ticket to the NBA Finals, which is yet another sore reminder of the Mavericks' inability to hold onto superstar players since the beginning of the 2000s.

Of course, props to Brunson, as no one in Dallas foresaw him being able to be the No. 1 option on a team that made it to the NBA Finals, even after an electric 2022 playoff run in Dallas, but Dallas' inability to hold onto their most elite homegrown talent continues to be genuinely depressing.

This issue started when Steve Nash left Dallas in the 2004 offseason and subsequently won two straight league MVPs, as Mark Cuban ultimately decided both Nash and Brunson weren't worth what the Phoenix Suns and Knicks offered them in free agency, despite having full Bird rights for both of them before they departed elsewhere.

Brunson's Finals appearance is a reminder of Mavs' inability to retain stars

This trend culminated in the worst possible point in February of 2025, when former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison took Luka Doncic for granted by trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Max Christie, Anthony Davis, and a 2029 first-round pick. This left Mavericks fans completely devastated, as everyone knows, and Dallas would still be insufferable had the basketball gods not blessed them with the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 to select Cooper Flagg.

Of course, Harrison will probably never work in the NBA again, and Cuban has far less influence in the decision-making aspect of Dallas' roster compared to when he was still the majority owner of the team. However, Brunson leading the Knicks to the Finals continues to speak volumes to how badly the Mavericks have taken their homegrown talent for granted over the past 20-plus years.

Unless things come to an absolute breaking point like the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation with the Milwaukee Bucks, for instance, NBA teams seldom let future superstars just walk out the door in free agency, much less trade their franchise player for pennies on the dollar.

There is no room for this issue to persist in the modern NBA for Dallas

The Mavericks have done this three times since 2004, though, which is the kind of stuff that can really fracture a fanbase, and is something they can't afford to go through again anytime soon. Flagg has the makings of a perennial MVP candidate, and Dallas could find a future co-star/superstar for him with the ninth pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

With new vetted management and Flagg leading the future of Dallas basketball, it seems extremely unlikely the Mavericks are going to screw this up again by letting go of Flagg or his next co-star in an ill-advised decision, but history has taught Mavericks fans to expect the worst, unfortunately.

Again, it should be noted that no one saw a 6-foot-1 guard in Brunson being able to spearhead a team to the Finals, but the same can be said about Nash's ascension when he left for Phoenix back in the day. Dallas hasn't had trouble paying middle-of-the-pack role players massive extensions over the past 20 seasons, but for some reason, they haven't been able to properly gauge the value of their best players, which has to come to an end under Masai Ujiri and company.

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