Mavs in Danger of Falling Into Sports Purgatory

The Dallas Mavericks failed to make any type of relevant move before the NBA trade deadline.  Of all years, this was probably the one when a move was most needed. 

The Mavericks are a team that is right in the middle, they are not nearly good enough to compete for an NBA title, however they are good enough to make the playoffs and last a round, maybe two if they are lucky.

This is a very scary place to be in when your team's core players are all in the latter half of their prime.  Thus the team is very close to falling into what i like to call "sports purgatory."

The sports purgatory is a place that no team wants to fall into.  It is much more beneficial to land on either extreme of the sports spectrum, but not in the middle.  For example, if a team is good enough to compete for a championship, well then that speaks for itself. 

However, if a team is at the bottom, they usually have room under their salary cap to add pieces, they have young talent that is developing, and they have high draft picks.  They also have the expectations from their fans lowered, so that any success they dohave is more celebratory.

If you are in a position as the Mavs are falling into, it is very possible it could be years before your team finally falls down to the bottom.  They have older star players who will consistently get you into the bottom rung of the playoffs, but not enough help to advance any further. 

They never have high enough draft picks to truly rebuild, and their payroll is right around the salary cap, so it is hard to add anyone of legitimacy.  

The Mavericks have the core players to where they could have made a serious run at the Larry O'Brian trophy, if they only had made a move to raise their team to the next level.  Unfortunately for Mavs fans across the globe, they dropped the ball.  

Yes, some people will argue it is better to wait til the Summer of 2010, when the free agent pool will be filled with just about every all-star in the league.  However, what is going to be guaranteed?  Nothing. 

The Mavericks have no idea if Dirk Nowitzki will still be playing at the superstar level he is at right now.  Jason Kidd will most likely be gone, or a mere shadow of his former self.  Josh Howard will probably have smoked away the remaining two brain cells he has left.  Jason Terry will be in his mid 30s. 

So, without any top draft picks before then, no starting point guard, and the core of their team suddenly very very old, what makes the Mavs think any of the big name free agents would even want to come to Dallas, none the less if it would put them on a level to compete for a championship? 

The Mavs are walking on an extremely thin line right now.  The rest of this season will determine whether that line snaps, or if it turns into a brick road.