Should the Mavericks Trade Dirk?
Honestly? Should they? Is it such a bad idea if the Mavs lose Dirk?
If not, then what do the Dallas Mavericks do now? I ask that question seriously. How do they build their team from here on out? A week ago it was a lot simpler. They got DeAndre Jordan to solidify their frontcourt alongside Chandler Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki. They convinced Wesley Matthews to sign for four years and were looking to upgrade the point guard situation and add depth. Things weren't finished but solid steps were being taken.
Then, Jordan decided to stay in Los Angeles. Never mind the agreement that he had with Mark Cuban a few days before. Depending on what you want to believe Jordan was then either hanging out with his friends on the Clippers or kidnapped and unable to talk to the Mavericks at all. The media world and the twitter world lost their minds. Emojis were being sent out from JJ Reddick, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and even the Michael Jordan brand. Everything was crazy and at the end of the day the Mavericks were left with nothing but rage.
Business is business and Jordan wanted to stay where he was. It's a free country and people have the right to make whatever decision they want to. Could Jordan have been more professional and told Cuban and the Mavs face to face? Yes. However, he didn't and now the Mavs are left looking like the guy who got stood up on a date. They're mad at the world and want to vent as the person who made them sad. In an interview with Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas Parsons said as much.
"I'm shocked, very disappointed, frustrated, disrespected," Parsons said. "When a man gives you his word and an organization his word, especially when that organization put in so much effort and I walked him through this process and was very, very open and willing to work with him, it's just very unethical and disrespectful."
You can't even blame him. This is the same Parsons who had meetings with Jordan and convinced him to come to Dallas in the first place. He's pissed and wants to yell. Mark Cuban said today that Jordan lied to him and he told him he was on a date. The smear campaign is now in full effect. It's going to get worse, especially when the Mavs and Clippers face each other during the season.
So what do the Mavs do now? Well, they signed Zaza Pachulia in order to correct the Jordan fiasco and now they have interest in Deron Williams. All of these are lateral moves at best. None of them make them good enough to win a title or even make the Western Conference Finals. You have Dirk in the final years of his career willing to take less in order to win a ring. He's taken the Tim Duncan approach only without the results.
After the 2011 championship the Mavericks haven't finished higher than 7th. Over the last four years the Mavericks have finished 7th, 10th, 8th and 7th in the West. Meanwhile the Spurs have finished 1st, 2nd, 1st and 5th in that time. Oh yeah and the title for the Spurs in 2014 and the acquisitions of David West and LaMarcus Aldridge this year.
After the title in 2011 the Mavericks let Tyson Chandler go and were swept in the opening round. Instead of building through the draft the team decided to sign players to one year deals for the next four years. Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Jose Calderon and O.J. Mayo all took one year deals and trades for Samuel Dalembert and Rajon Rondo were done in order to make the team better. All of it failed.
Now what do they have? They have an aging Dirk waiting to be good enough to win another ring and an owner who keeps telling him that they're going to win, just be patient.
Is it that terrible to trade Dirk away? Honestly, if it happens would it be that terrible? Dirk's not winning a ring, odds are, for the rest of his career unless the team convinces Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to come to Dallas over the next two seasons. We don't hold it against Paul Pierce that he left. We don't hold it against Kevin Garnet that he played for three teams in his career or that Shaq bounced from team to team at the end. Hell, we don't even hold it against Michael Jordan and he decided to come out of retirement after the perfect ending to a career.
If Dirk really wants to win a ring it's not going to be with the Mavericks, as hard as it is for people to hear.