How much is Mark Cuban to blame for the Dallas Mavericks struggles?

The Dallas Mavericks are in danger of completely missing the postseason just one year after reaching the conference finals as this season has not gone as planned in any way. Luka Doncic has been spectacular, including leading the league in scoring for most of the year, and Dallas is going to finish with a losing record. The wheels came off down the stretch as nothing went right for the Mavs.

The problems started years ago, and they have all built to this moment. It was a minor failed trade, a massive failed trade, overpaying in free agency, letting a key piece depart with zero return, and so on. All those moves add up to making a desperation trade for Kyrie Irving and watching it blow up in your face because the team has nobody left to defend.

The Mavericks should be evaluating everything right now. From the top down, Dallas must make changes if they are going to build a title contender around Luka Doncic. First, the Mavs should be assessing the problems, and how much of the blame for the team’s struggles should be on owner Mark Cuban? Here are five mistakes he needs to learn from and implement solutions for moving forward.

Owner Mark Cuban deserves all the blame for Dallas Mavericks losing Jalen Brunson

The biggest negative of the Luka Doncic era in Dallas was letting Brunson walk in free agency and getting zero return. Contenders do not lose their second-best player without getting something back. They just do not let that happen.

To make matters worse, Brunson wanted to sign the four-year $55 million extension that he was eligible for before and during the 2021-2022 season. The Mavs could have JB on one of the best-value contracts in the league right now, but they wanted to maintain the flexibility to trade him if a superstar came along.

Cuban deserves all the blame for losing Jalen Brunson. He is the owner, and Brunson’s new contract would have come directly out of his checkbook. At any moment, the 64-year-old billionaire could have stepped in and offered JB the extension he wanted, but it never happened.

Owner Mark Cuban got no zero return for the Dallas Mavericks' second-best player, and the franchise is paying dearly for that at this moment, but it was not the first time that he misevaluated his own talent.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban repeated the same mistake in losing Jalen Brunson for nothing

Letting Brunson walk in free agency was a massive blunder by the entire franchise, and somehow Dallas managed to make it worse. It was the second time Cuban made this error, and for the second time, it blew up directly in his face.

After Dirk Nowitzki’s third straight All-Star appearance in 2004, the Mavericks let point guard Steve Nash walk in free agency. The circumstances were slightly different, but the billionaire decided against paying an undersized guard. It created one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history as Nash went on to be a two-time MVP in Phoenix and Dirk was an all-time great. How would the Mavericks have fared with two Hall of Famers leading their charge for the next decade?

Adding to the parallels, Doncic had just made his third All-Star team when Brunson left, and the 6’2 guard immediately took his game to another level in New York.

The biggest difference was Dallas got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in 2004, and they made the conference finals in 2022. Clearly, the Doncic and Brunson pairing worked, and Cuban still let him walk in free agency. The Mavs also traded for a replacement in 2004 by adding Jason Terry. Dallas did not fill the Brunson hole, and the result was a massive disappointment.

The primary reason Jalen Brunson is no longer a Maverick has been one of the franchise's biggest issues since Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000.

Mark Cuban continues to chase the biggest fish but Dallas Mavericks keep going hungry

The best reason given for not signing Jalen Brunson to the extension when they had the chance was Dallas wanted to keep their options open on the trade market. The Mavs were only trading JB for a superstar, so again, they were chasing a mythical player instead of locking in their second-best player at a below-market value contract. Let that sentence sink in because it was Cuban making the same mistake, but this time, it was like the tenth time he made it.

For the majority of Dirk Nowitzki’s prime, Dallas chased the biggest fish in free agency, and it never worked, not one time. Yet again, when Cuban faced the choice, he decided to chase the superstar. This time it was via trade, but the principal stands.

Fast forward to this season, and Cuban again did this same thing. The moment Kyrie Irving requested a trade out of Brooklyn, the Mavericks were on the other end of the phone. They finally got the superstar. Dallas looked the other way on all the drama and chaos Kyrie created with the Nets. They just wanted to land a superstar next to their current superstar, and even that blew up in their face.

It could get so much worse this summer if Kyrie Irving walks in free agency. Dallas would have effectively given up three draft picks and two starters, including their best defender, for a disastrous two-month rental.

The Dallas Mavericks keep chasing superstar talent, but they end up going hungry every time, including the one time they finally landed one.

Mark Cuban should take the blame for Christian Wood trade not working out

The Mavs traded a late first-round pick and a handful of players outside their rotation for Christian Wood before the 2022 draft. Dallas wanted to create some roster flexibility, which backfired as they took the chance at adding a talented big man over drafting a young talent.

There was a problem from the first moment, though. Head coach Jason Kidd did not want to play him significant minutes because of his defensive limitations. So Dallas gave up a first-round pick for a player their coach was hesitant to use in the biggest moments. Often, Kidd avoided Wood in crunch time altogether.

Talk about not making sense. At that point, just draft a young talent and develop him slowly. The Mavs would have picked Jaden Hardy in the first round and could have kept the two second-round picks that they traded to acquire him on draft night.

Whether Mark Cuban orchestrated the trade or not, he should take the blame on this one. They acquired a player that the coaching staff did not want to play. There is at minimum some miscommunication there and potentially something worse. Either way, the trade just does not make sense.

Sadly, that is far from the Dallas Mavericks' biggest problem, and things could get much worse this summer.

Dallas Mavericks roster is in shambles and Mark Cuban needs to spearhead the retool

The Mavs are one of the worst teams in the league on the defensive end of the floor. They have zero rebounding or rim protection to go along with suspect perimeter defense. Dallas cannot get a stop to save its season. That is the first place the Mavericks should be looking to improve this summer, but it won’t be easy.

The Mavs have seven soon-to-be free agents on their roster, but re-signing them all does Dallas little good. If they bring back Kyrie Irving, they won’t have cap space leaving the Mavericks with just their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions to improve their roster.

Everything else would have to come from minimum contracts, the draft, and trades. Dallas can keep their first-round draft pick in 2023 if it falls inside the top ten. If not, the Mavericks will send it to New York to complete the original Kristaps Porzingis trade. Their trade assets are minimal, and the Mavs have a ton of holes to fill.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban must lead the roster retool. They should not try to add a third star or do anything wild. The Mavs need role players and as many as they can find willing to come to Dallas.

Cuban deserves plenty of the blame for the team’s current state, but it is not all on him. The front office, coaching staff, and players have all made plenty of errors this season. Can they bounce back next year? Stay tuned to find out.