The Dallas Mavericks won their only title in 2011, but they may have helped the franchise become the best team of the 2000s.
In the 2000s, the Western Conference was dominated by the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Over the course of a decade, either the Spurs or Lakers reached the finals every year, except in 2006, when the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Miami Heat. The Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, and even the Sacramento Kings were playoff staples between 2000 and 2010, but the conference passed San Antonio and Los Angeles.
If the Mavericks re-signed the Star in 2004, they could have built their own dynasty.
During the 2003-04 season, the Mavericks lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Kings. That summer they will lose Steve Nash to the Suns at a free agency.
Nash and Dark Nowicki established themselves as one of the league’s best offensive duos, and once Shaq and Kobe finished their run, the Mavericks were poised to take the Lakers’ spot at the top of the rankings.
However, the Suns were more willing to pay Nash than the Mavericks, so he bouncing off at his free agency.
“Mark Cuban was sure that durability concerns would catch up with Steve Nash,” explained former Mavericks beat writer Mark Stein. “So Mark Cuban set a limit on his head. He was only going for four years, $36 million. So the Sands will provide two years and $30 million.”
Nash took the money, and it’s hard not to blame him. He continued to earn consecutive MVPs in his first two seasons with the Suns, but never played the NBA Finals.
Nash was able to do a fast-paced attack with Sean Marion, Amal Stodemire and Joe Johnson, but never again played as much as the scorer as Dark, who led the Mavericks to their sole title in 2011.
At the end of the day, Sands simply wanted to pay more.
“The Suns put a considerable offer like this on the table, and Mark Cuban didn’t want to raise his offer,” Stein explained. “How do you say no to the extra $30 million to get back to the team that drafted you?”
Along with Nash, the Mavericks made the playoffs in four of their five years, averaging 52 wins per season, but struggled in the playoffs with the best team.
Without Nash, it would have taken the Mavericks a few seasons to recover. They made the playoffs every season until 2013, but they became the third and first seed to lose to the eighth seed that believed in the Golden State Warriors in 2007, when Derik won the MVP.
Nash has found more than his fair share of personal success with Phoenix, but the Mavericks may have taken the mantle from the Lakers if he stayed in Dallas. Cuba refused to fire, and he quickly regretted it.
“It was my choice for Steve to leave for money. It was my choice not to pay him,” Cuba explained in 2004.
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