Oh, How the Mavericks Have Fallen!

Three years ago, people would be laughing at me if I told them that the Dallas Mavericks would reach the NBA Finals within the next year.

They were of course proven wrong by one heck of a playoff run before collapsing in the NBA Finals.

A year later, we witnessed the Mavericks having their greatest season ever and once again we had believers. They pulled out all the stops and reached 67 wins and possibly one of the greatest regular seasons of all time. But they faced the Golden State Warriors and of course we know of the great collapse that occured at the hands of the Warriors.

Mark Cuban, Avery Johnson and Donnie Nelson attempted to convince themselves that this team was legit, that it could once again reach the summit and overcome the two seasons of disappointment. Dallas had the key to winning the NBA finals; there was just one piece missing. They looked at every position that they can improve on and they decided stupidly that it was the point guard position that needed the most help.

They might be regretting that now.

The powers-that-be decided that they needed an All-Star point guard instead of their exponentially improving point, Devin Harris. So, in a move made necessary by the great Pau Gasol heist of the Los Angeles Lakers, they made probably one of the worst trades in recent memory.  They traded their growing point guard, the back up center and future draft picks for an aging point guard, Jason Kidd.

The impatience of the Mavericks has come back to bite them. Mark Cuban and the management were blinded by the fact that Devin Harris was improving on all cylinders. His scoring was up, his defense was improving and he was actually trying to improve his assist game!

No. That wasn't enough for the management and they traded him away because they believed he was the reason why they failed in the first round last year. Devin Harris was NOT the SOLE REASON the Mavericks lost to the Warriors in the playoffs. 

Weeks ago, people were hailing this as a new revival of the Mavericks, the trade that would bring them back to the top of the Western Conference.

But has this trade even advanced the Mavericks to be any better then they were before? No. Actually they went backwards.

People in Dallas were calling for Jason Kidd because they thought that the major problem was our point guard position. Yes, Devin Harris is not a true point guard and his assists totals are barely better then a shooting guard. But when he was a Maverick there was something that they would actually do, BEAT TEAMS WITH WINNING RECORDS!

Believe me, I love Jason Kidd. I have so much love for a guy who can get triple-doubles in no hurry. I have respect for a guy who will be in the Hall of Fame but may not ever touch a championship ring. But Jason Kidd was not the answer to the Mavericks' woes. The last time the Mavericks beat a WINNING team was back when HARRIS was at the point. 

The answer to Dallas was patience and a big man. Yes, Erick Dampier has gotten better with Jason Kidd around him but what could of been better for the Mavericks was to actually aquire or trade for a big man instead of trading your rising talent point guard and a back up center. Patience was also needed but the entire Mavericks team hit the PANIC button after they lost a couple of games in a row WITHOUT Harris.

Every team has their share of losing streaks to happen but going all nuts about it and throwing away players and draft picks was not the way to go at things. You freaked out because you were losing games without a starting player. Isn't that just EXPECTED to happen? Isn't there some common sense in that?

People who still support the Kidd trade give all the excuses for the Mavericks at this time.

"Oh, Kidd's system is too unique for the Mavericks and it needs time."

"Oh, He never played with a good team before so he has to get used to it."

Maybe their right in some sense. But that doesn't excuse the fact that the Mavericks can't beat a team with a winning record anymore. There should be ABSOLUTELY no excuse given for the failure to finish a game.  The Mavericks were fine before but their impatience and inability to see the rising talent of Devin Harris grow and they paid the price for that. I will have one thing to say though.

Atleast they're not the Miami Heat.