Dallas Mavericks: In Rough Times, Trust Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson

During the Mavericks' championship run, their formula was to play as a team and count on the strengths of individual players.

You can argue that this championship was won by five players: Dirk’s nightly heroics and game-changing plays; Kidd’s impact on defense against prior scoring champs; Terry’s clutch ability to make shots; Barea’s sneakiness and penetration in the lane; and Chandler’s incredible defensive intensity and focus. Each of these players relied on one another during the pivotal moments throughout May and June to lead their team to their first championship.

From 2006 to 2010, the team was ridiculed as being old, soft and choke-worthy. Nonetheless, the Mavericks, led by Dirk on the court and Cuban and Nelson in the front office, kept plugging away at forming the best possible team.

With that persistence and continuity, many things fell in place during their 2011 run. Just six months removed from that remarkable night in Miami, though, a lot has changed for the Mavericks.

Tyson Chandler has departed for the New York Knicks. JJ Barea has departed to who knows where—likely to a Mavericks rival such as the Miami Heat, LA Lakers or San Antonio Spurs. Caron Butler has departed to the LA Clippers. DeShawn Stevenson has already indicated his likely departure.

All of these moves—which gave Dallas nothing in return—leave the team with a starting lineup of Dirk, Marion, Kidd, Terry and Haywood. Yikes.

Many people around the league believe that Marion, Kidd and Terry cannot go anywhere but down. They have had great, productive (in Kidd’s case, easily Hall of Fame) careers, but as they age, it is clear that their productivity is on the decline.

There is little positive to say regarding Brendan Haywood. He is a worthless, overpaid and underachieving center—similar to centers Dallas has had in the past.

All that being said, Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson refuse to field a losing team. They remain a very creative front office and will do their best to surround Dirk with top-notch talent.

Will these departures hurt Dallas’s chances to repeat as NBA champions? Without a doubt. Will these departures change their franchise course and take them back to the pitiful 1990s days? Absolutely not.

With all the cap space that the Mavericks have now, they can make a serious run at the star-studded free agent class of 2012. Pairing Dirk with hometown boy Deron Williams could immediately spring Dallas back into perennial title contention.

But for now, Mavs fans, it is time to trust Nelly and Cubes.