Simultaneously, Buffalo Braves president and general manager Norm Sonju developed an interest in bringing the NBA to Dallas as he studied possible new locations for the ailing franchise.

Sonju and Carter tried purchasing both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Kansas City Kings, but disagreement on relocation stalled the negotiations, leading them to instead aim for an expansion team.

The Mavs used it to select forward-center Sam Perkins, a former North Carolina Tar Heel, with a surprising range from the three-point line who would average 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in six seasons with Dallas.

Mark Aguirre and James Donaldson both played in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, the Mavericks rattled off a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, and Rolando Blackman scored his 10,000th career point.

Brad Davis' back problems forced him to retire in mid-January, and Fat Lever had knee surgery again on January 29, missing the remainder of the season—hardly worth the cost of losing two first-round draft picks.

In 1992–93, the rebuilding began in earnest, with the Mavs trading Rolando Blackman—who by that point had surpassed Mark Aguirre as the team's all-time leading scorer—to the New York Knicks for a first-round draft pick.

The Mavericks selected Ohio State guard Jim Jackson with the fourth overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft, but he and owner Donald Carter could not come to terms on a contract for half of his rookie season.

The first big move came in December, as Jason Kidd, Loren Meyer, and Tony Dumas were traded to the Phoenix Suns for guards Michael Finley and Sam Cassell and forward A.C. Green.

However, whereas Cassell became a consistent floor leader, and Jackson, Gatling and, McCloud all continued to be substantial contributors to their teams for several more years, only Bradley lasted any time in Dallas.

In 1997–98, despite a poor record of 20–62, Dallas had a knack for giving some of the NBA's elite teams a hard time to beat the Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and Chicago Bulls.

His controversial moves (he allowed Dennis Rodman to live in his house for a week before temporarily signing him) and outspoken personality quickly made him a fan favorite in Dallas.

Also, Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player to play in the NBA, signing with the Mavs in January, along with Eduardo Nájera, bringing Dallas an international cast that included Canada's Nash and Germany's Nowitzki.

Another blockbuster trade sent Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, and Donnell Harvey to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Raef LaFrentz, Nick Van Exel, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, and Avery Johnson.

The Mavericks acquired Antawn Jamison, Danny Fortson, Jiří Welsch, and Chris Mills from Golden State in exchange for Nick Van Exel, Evan Eschmeyer, Popeye Jones, Avery Johnson, and Antoine Rigaudeau.

The tragic figure was Josh Howard, who missed a pair of clutch free throws in overtime and mistakenly called an early timeout, so the Mavs had to bring in the ball at backcourt rather than half-court for the last possession.

The Mavericks dealt Devin Harris, two first-round picks, and others to the New Jersey Nets for veteran all-star Jason Kidd and other role players; Cuban also tried to acquire Kevin Garnett without success.

In a three-team deal with the Grizzlies and Raptors, the Mavericks sent swingman Antoine Wright and defensive stalwart Devean George to Toronto, while aging guard Jerry Stackhouse landed in Memphis.

These moves proved successful because after dropping the season opener to the Wizards, the Mavericks beat many contenders such as the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and the Phoenix Suns.

The trade sent Josh Howard, James Singleton, and Drew Gooden to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and Deshawn Stevenson.

Dallas would eventually lose against San Antonio in six games 97–87, leading to yet another off-season full of speculation, mostly centering on franchise player Dirk Nowitzki's pending free agent status.

[42] The Mavericks finished 49–33, one game ahead of Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot, which meant that they would once again have to face their in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, the top seed in the Western Conference with a 62–20 record.

On January 31, 2019, the Mavericks sent Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two future first-round draft picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke.

[56] On August 2, after the Memphis Grizzlies lost against the San Antonio Spurs, the Mavericks clinched a spot in the 2020 NBA playoffs no worse than the seventh seed, marking their first trip since 2016.

[95][96][97] On February 1, 2025, the Mavericks sent Luka Dončić, Markieff Morris, and Maxi Kleber to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round draft pick.

The 2022–23 "City" uniform featured retro-style white letters with green trim on a blue base, which was a nod to the late 1970s–early 1980s disco era that served as a boom period within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

The Mavericks, run by a trio of Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and Dirk Nowitzki, had just defeated the Utah Jazz despite not having home-court advantage and were only starting to meld into a title contender.

[125] Worth noting in a regular season meeting between the two rivals in April 2007, a game that the Spurs won 91–86, Tim Duncan suffered his first career ejection for supposedly laughing while sitting on the bench.

The following year, a Suns team without Stoudemire (who was injured), Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson, but with a core of new players led by Raja Bell (who clotheslined Lakers star Kobe Bryant in a first-round series game), Boris Diaw and Tim Thomas to go along with Nash and fellow All-Star Shawn Marion.

In February 2018, the Dallas Mavericks hired former AT&T executive Cynthia Marshall as their interim CEO in a direct response to the franchise's sexual assault and domestic violence allegations involving Ussery and Earl K.

[149] On September 19, 2018, the team's investigation report concluded that there were "numerous instances of sexual harassment and other improper workplace conduct" that had occurred within the organization, none of which being related to the allegation against Cuban himself.