1 Player from each decade the Dallas Mavericks gave up on way too soon

5. 1990s: Jason Kidd

Current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is known as one of the greatest Mavs ever, but most fans forget that the team gave up on him way too soon in the 1990s.

Dallas drafted Kidd with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, and Kidd became a star right away. In his rookie season, Kidd averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 38.5 percent from the field.

Kidd was excellent on both ends for Dallas, and this helped him earn the 1994-95 NBA Rookie of the Year. His dominance for Dallas continued until the middle of the 1996-97 season, and this is when the Mavs decided to trade him to the Phoenix Suns.

Kidd was just starting to turn into an elite guard, and Dallas gave up on him way too soon. There were some problems involving Kidd and some of the other players on the roster and the coaching staff, and this forced them to blow the roster up.

It's a shame that Dallas missed out on Kidd's prime years due to this, but Kidd's story in Dallas ended well as he returned in 2008 and helped the Mavs win the NBA Finals in 2011. Kidd is one of the greatest point guards ever, and even though his first stint with the team ended poorly, he and the Mavs made up for it during his second stint as a player and his third current stint as the head coach.

Mavs fans have deep trust in Kidd as the team's head coach, and he has turned into one of the better coaches in the NBA in front of everyone's eyes.