Dallas Mavericks Get Swept by Thunder: Did Mark Cuban Make a Mistake?

On Sunday morning, the Dallas Mavericks could very well have woken up with a 3-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the two teams' first-round matchup. They nearly beat the Thunder in both Games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City and then proceeded to squander a 13-point lead in Game 4.

It's like they say, though: "close" only counts in horseshoes and grenades. The defending champion Mavericks were swept by the Thunder, marking the second consecutive year that the reigning champ was swept in the playoffs. Last year, Dallas did it to the Los Angeles Lakers.

This time, the Mavs were the victim, falling to Oklahoma City 103-97 on Saturday night.

The Mavericks' failure to win a game against the second-seeded Thunder calls into question owner Mark Cuban's decision to let Tyson Chandler, Jose Juan Barea and DeShawn Stevenson all walk via free agency this past offseason. All three players were vital contributors to Dallas' first NBA title in 2011, but Cuban chose to not pursue back-to-back titles and instead chose to save money for big-name players such as Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

Was this the correct move?

The thing is, Cuban took a pretty big chance by doing this. There is absolutely no guarantee that he will land either Williams or Howard, and as a matter of fact, recent reports from CBS Sports have stated that Williams is leaning toward returning to the Brooklyn Nets. That could very well mean that the Nets told Williams that they are confident they can land Howard in a trade.

The latter is all speculation on my part, but it certainly seems logical given the fact that Williams has not seemed all too happy as a Net, and unless he knows for sure owner Mikhail Prokhorov is going to make moves to improve the team, I cannot see why he would want to stay there.

So now, Cuban may not have only missed out on the opportunity to hang another banner at the American Airlines Center, but he may be missing out on the two biggest fish he planned on chasing after.

I come from the school of thought that nothing is ever guaranteed, so I certainly think Cuban should have made more of an effort to re-sign Chandler and perhaps both Barea and Stevenson, as well. Yes, Dirk Nowitzki was clearly Dallas' best player last season, but Chandler was the backbone of an improved defense that gave the Miami Heat fits in the finals. Nowitzki may have been "the guy," but Chandler was the key.

Let's say Cuban keeps Chandler and Barea. That gives the Mavericks an anchor in the middle defensively, something that Brendan Haywood has proven that he simply cannot be. It also gives them someone off the bench who can consistently break down the defense with his blinding speed and, if isn't able to score in the lane, kick the ball out to Dallas' many solid three-point shooters—Nowitzki being one of them.

Do you really think the Mavs get swept in the first round of the playoffs if they have those two ingredients? Of course not. Also, do you really think they would have been the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference? Again, not very likely.

I truly admire Cuban as an owner. He is undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, passionate front office guys in sports and expresses a genuine love for the game of basketball. However, I veritably question his decision(s) in this case. I understand his thought process, no doubt. Still, taking a risk that big can sometimes come back to bite you, and unless he can land Williams and possibly Howard in the offseason, it looks like it will.

Let's face it: Nowitzki (33) is not getting any younger, and he already displayed signs of slowing down this season. He was not the same dominant force he was during the 2010-11 campaign. Of course, that may have had something to do with the fact that Dallas was very watered down this year and Dirk was forced to do a bit too much on his own.

Clearly, Lamar Odom was a failed experiment. Vince Carter? He had his moments, but he is not even a shell of the player he once was. Cuban thought these guys could serve as effective stopgaps for the likes of Chandler, Barea and Stevenson until he could attempt to reel in Williams and Howard, but they could not get the job done. Odom did not even finish the season with the team, and Carter has become a symbol for how far basketball players—particularly ones who relied on freakish athleticism in their younger days—can fall with age.

The Mavericks definitely could have challenged for another championship this year, but Cuban chose to go in a different direction—a direction that could very well end up setting back Dallas for years.