History of the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs used it to select forward/center Sam Perkins, a former North Carolina Tar Heel with 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.
The Mavericks were left undermanned, demoralized and disheartened as they finished with a 38–44 record, losing the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference via tiebreaker to the Denver Nuggets.
The team endured numerous changes in 1990, losing Sam Perkins to the Lakers via free agency and suffering injuries to practically their entire 1990–91 starting lineup.
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.
Dallas selected Kentucky forward Jamal Mashburn with the fourth overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft and hired NBC analyst and former player Quinn Buckner as coach, but the team's progress was minimal.
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.
Within a week of his hiring, the Mavs had released Fred Roberts and Oliver Miller and traded Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat for forwards Kurt Thomas and Martin Müürsepp and guard Sasha Danilović.
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, as they beat the Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls.
Notable were the acquisitions of power forward Dirk Nowitzki and point guard Steve Nash, two seemingly unspectacular moves which would make a great impact in the future.
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 and garnered the team much press in the national media.
Also, Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player to play in the NBA, signing with the Mavs in January, along with the Eduardo Nájera, bringing Dallas a decent 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 also made several attempts to sign the Utah Jazz's star Karl Malone.
The Mavericks swept the Kevin Garnett-led Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs but lost again in the second round, this time to the Chris Webber-led Sacramento Kings.
The "Big Three" Nowitzki, Finley, and Nash were a 100-point-game waiting to happen and led the Mavericks into the Conference Finals against the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs.
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 halfcourt for the last possession.
The Mavericks dealt Devin Harris, two first-round picks and others in a blockbuster trade to the New Jersey Nets for veteran all-star Jason Kidd and other role players, Cuban also tried to sign the free agent Kevin Garnett unsuccessfully.
In a three-team deal with the Grizzlies and Raptors, the Mavericks sent swing-man Antoine Wright along with defensive stalwart Devean George to Toronto, while aging guard Jerry Stackhouse landed in Memphis.
The trade sent Josh Howard, James Singleton, and Drew Gooden to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and Deshawn Stevenson.
felt that this was a good move, because not only did it remove a disgruntled Howard from the line-up, it simultaneously brought Dirk Nowitzki a quality supporting cast, with many believing that the Mavs could contend for a title after the trade went through.
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.
This however would prove to only be a temporary setback because Nowitzki only missed nine games, and admittedly rushed back to assist the Mavericks' reeling offense, and consequently they quickly returned to their winning ways.
The Mavericks re-invented their defensive reputation around the league during the 2010–11 campaign, mostly in part[clarification needed] to off-season acquisition Tyson Chandler (who was later named to the All-Defensive Second Team).
During the brief off-season owner Mark Cuban decided to maintain financial flexibility by letting key contributors Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler go.
Meanwhile, they acquired incumbent NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom via a trade with the Lakers, while signing veterans Vince Carter and Delonte West.
After losing rising star guard, Jalen Brunson, to the New York Knicks, the Mavericks struggled to find the same synergy they had the prior year, going 10-10 through the first two months of the season.
[23][24][25] 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.
