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Cuban's mind is ticking. Photo: AP/David Zalubowski
Mark Cuban has never been shy about making big trades and tweaking rosters. If there is a fifteen player-five team trade that could happen, you can bet Cuban has run the scenario through his head. The latest such trade on his resume is the one that has sent Shawn Marion to the Mavs from the Raptors as part of a four team deal involving several other players. This was a solid trade from a Dallas standpoint because it gets an all-star forward with great athleticism and strong defensive skills, without giving up much. Jerry Stackhouse only played ten games last season; Devean George was already traded once, but he used the force -- no-trade clause -- to see his way back to the Mavs; Antoine Wright came on strong near the end of the season, but not many fans will blink about his loss when they know who is coming.
Marion is 31 years old, so the Mavs’ roster isn’t getting any younger. But his ability to defend several positions and his athleticism is something the team could have desperately used in its playoff series with the Nuggets in May. His offensive production may have dropped somewhat in the last season plus, but that could have a lot to do with him losing Steve Nash as a teammate. While with Phoenix, Marion was an all star, and he can surely fit in nicely in Dallas with another excellent point guard like Jason Kidd. Mark Cuban may or may not be done yet this off-season. In fact, I get a sneaky feeling something else will happen. A lot of that has to do with certain words or phrases being used like “the fun is just beginning” and whatnot. But Mavs fans should always be ready, because Cuban has shown time and time again that he isn’t afraid to shake things up. While we wait for another move that could happen, let’s look back at some of the major transactions Cuban has pulled off since he bought the team on January 4, 2000 and the impact they made.
The first decision Mark Cuban is known for is his signing of Dennis Rodman a month after buying the team. It was largely a marketing ploy and Rodman’s tenure lasted exactly 12 games and several days living in Cuban’s guest house. This brings me to an indisputable fact: love him or hate him, Cuban has an excellent business mind. Not everything works out the way he wants or imagines, but you can bet he is moving forward in the long run. The first splash made by the new owner came in August of that year, when in a two week span, the Mavs made two trades involving numerous players. The biggest names acquired were Howard Eisley and Christian Laettner. Neither lasted until the next season, but that was longer than the other three players the Mavs received, who lasted a total of five games between them. Overall they were underwhelming trades.
However, one of those pieces, Laettner, was further used at the trade deadline that season that brought Dallas two key pieces to their run in the playoffs. It was a move that saw the arrival of Juwan Howard and Calvin Booth. Howard was already a star, and he would provide about 18 points a game for the Mavs. Booth? He was nothing more than a role player who might give you a couple field goals a game. But one is all the Mavs needed in one particular game. In what is likely one of the most fond moments in Mavericks history, Booth hit the series clinching basket that sent the Mavs into the second round and sent the Utah Jazz packing. It was a huge upset -- both teams had the same record, but Utah’s playoff history compared to Dallas’ non-playoff history made it the upset it was -- and little known Calvin Booth provided it. Score one for Cuban with this trade.
The next big transaction Cuban was responsible for was at the trade deadline in 2002. Juwan Howard was the big name sent to Denver, and Dallas received Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz. Both were again traded away within about 20 months, but the two were very serviceable in their time here. Van Exel became a fan favorite off the bench, a role he wasn’t used to, as he was accustomed to being a starter. His performances, especially during a second round series with the Kings in 2003, had fans screaming his name. LaFrentz held his own too. While he may not have been flashy, he did his part. The Mavs made a run to the Western Conference Finals -- one round further than the two years before. Give this trade another thumbs up.
Before the 2003-04 season, another major deal was struck that involved several players, but it was primarily Van Exel leaving, and Antawn Jamison coming. Jamison was like Van Exel in that he was converted from a starter into the main bench scorer. It is the only season of his career to this point in which he wasn’t a full-time starter. But he played in all 82 games, averaged just under 15 points per game, and finished as the sixth man of the year winner. Two months after Van Exel-for-Jamison, the Mavs acquired all star Antoine Walker from the Celtics and parted with LaFrentz, among others. Jamison and Walker provided about the same results for Dallas in the 2003-04 season, but the team had a down year and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs. There was a lack of team chemistry with player roles being shifted like they were. But before these trades can be judged, consider what both these players brought to the team when they were traded away themselves.
Prior to the next season, Jamison and Walker were sent to different teams in trades that helped create the top-tier Mavs that would make it to the finals two years later. In June 2004, Jamison was traded to the Washington Wizards in a draft day trade. In return, Dallas received Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner -- who was then traded four months later in a deal that landed Erick Dampier -- and the rights to the fifth overall pick of that draft, Devin Harris. On the other side, Antoine Walker was sent to the Atlanta Hawks for Jason Terry. So in 2004, the team landed four gigantic pieces. I include Dampier in this bunch because before him, it was all about Shawn Bradley at center for Dallas, and well, I won’t go any further there. Major points to Mark Cuban for these deals.
The glory of these trades was enough to calm Cuban’s brain, because he essentially took the next few seasons off from major dealing. It wasn’t until the trade deadline last season when he made another major trade. It was a huge trade involving a lot of players, but it can be really summed up as a trade of Devin Harris for Jason Kidd. It’s hard to judge this trade. Harris was a favorite of mine, and I was sad to see him go, but Kidd is a future Hall of Famer. It’s impossible to say whether the Mavs would have been better or worse in the year plus since this move. It may take time to determine if this was positive or negative.
That brings us back to this week. A four team trade was completed with the Mavs gaining the biggest piece in Shawn Marion. Again, it is way too early to determine the significance of this trade, but it's hard to imagine it being anything but positive. I can’t say if it will be one of the main pieces to another run in the playoffs. But who knows, this summer could end up a lot like 2004, especially if Cuban isn’t finished wheeling and dealing yet. Looking back on it, 2004 was quite easily Cuban’s greatest off-season. The 2009 off-season has been a welcomingly active and strong one for the owner as well. But it remains to be seen if it will rival the one five years before. If it does, good days are coming to Dallas.
For more info on the Mavs, see Dallas Mavericks Examiner Andrew Tobolowsky's page.
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