The Rock of Dallasyphus

In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of Corinth.  During his life, he came to be known for his deceit and cunning nature.  His greatest triumphs would come at the end of his life when he was able to deceive the gods and postpone his death but only for a short while.  When his indiscretions caught up to him, Sisyphus was given the eternal punishment of rolling a giant boulder up a steep hill only to have it roll back down when at the very top.  As the myth goes, this has been repeated for eternity.

For many franchises, navigating the mountain that is any given NBA season may seem to be a Sisyphus-like task, but even more so when that eternal goal is constantly at the fingertips.  Think about the Pistons of the late 80s who shed every layer of self-importance and from the ashes of defeat forged a new identity to make it all the way to the summit.  Another example would be the Bulls of the nineties who sniffed and sniffed and then broke through and, like jealous misers, never let that grip go until it was on their own terms. 

However, there are many cases where the task has become so elusive, such a constant heart-shattering let down that the question remaining is “what did we do to deserve this fate?”  No franchise in the National Basketball Association better epitomizes this than the Dallas Mavericks. 

The Mavericks were long known as a kicking post, a mere lay-over on the NBA landscape, an Old Wild Wild West shootout with the bumbling, stumbling town-drunk.  In 1998, while Jordan was holding the release of his signature moment in Utah, the Dallas Maverick organization was starring at a .396 lifetime winning percentage and only one season with more than 30 wins the entire decade.  They certainly had not helped their chances in the NBA lottery with misses on draft picks in each of the last three years (Cherokee Parks, Samalki Walker, Kelvin Cato).  Don Nelson had taken the coaching reigns mid-year but no turn around was in sight as they finished the year 16-50 under his command.  One minor glimmer was bringing in his son, Donnie Nelson, as Assistant Coach.  Donnie had a quality track record, especially his work overseas in places like Lithuania, the Far East and with USA Basketball. 

What happened next, no one could have predicted. 

The Oddest of Foundations

Adept at assessing foreign talent, the Nelson brain trust made two key discoveries that would forever alter the franchise.  In one fell-swoop, they drafted Robert “Tractor” Traylor and then immediately traded his rights to Milwaukee for the rights to Notre Dame Alum Pat Garrity and an unheralded lanky German named Dirk Nowitzki.  Moments later, a deal was in the works to ship the rights to Pat Garrity along with two no names and a future draft pick to Phoenix for third string point guard, Steve Nash. 

Let that last paragraph soak in for a second.  The Nelsons turned Robert “Tractor” Traylor into Dirk Nowitski and Steve Nash in a matter of hours.  That’s some world class hokus pokus if you ask me.  Will Milwaukee ever live this down?  Ever?

Dirk grew up in Germany the son of a women’s national basketball team member and a competitive-level handball player.  It wasn’t until family friend and basketball player Holger Geschwindner recognized Dirk’s potential as a teenager that he took basketball seriously.  Holger laid out an ultimatum- you can play basketball, have fun and be one of the best players in Germany or you can work out with me, do everything I say and you can be one of the best players in the world. The buzz word potential is thrown around often but in this case, the boy was dripping with it.

The interesting thing about the program Holger put Dirk through is that the focus was not purely on basketball.  Holger had Dirk learn an instrument and read literatures to hone his mind and disposition. 

Dirk would thrive and excel against the best US talent (50 points on Scottie Pippen and 33 in a game featuring Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis).  Still, Don and Donnie were not even sure if Dirk would be coming to Dallas any time soon.  In fact, Don and Donnie flew to Germany the day after drafting him.  They brought him back to Dallas, threw a BBQ at the Nelson house and basically told him, show up and play, have fun and learn, we won’t be making the playoffs anyway.  The transition was made easier when the NBA went into a lockout and Dirk was afforded a few more weeks to stay in Germany.  Not yet under contract, he played with his club team to stay fresh and when news of the lockout ending reached him, he was ready to go.

Meanwhile, by way of South Africa, Canada, Santa Clara and Phoenix, a bleached out back up point guard, a self-professed gym rat was settling in Dallas. Nash was another enigma, playing high school ball in Canada and not being recruited by a single school.  His high school coach sent videos to many colleges and the only one that came to show interest was Santa Clara who immediately recognized his talent and slapped a scholarship on him before big schools could find what they were missing.

He provided the perfect running mate for Dirk, helping him assimilate with American and NBA culture.  They lived on the same street, went out to the same restaurants, Dirk was given the garage code to Nash’s place, and on the road a timid Dirk was drawn out of his hotel room by Steve Nash who knew places and people.  Dirk began to feel at home but his game was still struggling.

Breaking Through

Dallas did not warm up to Dirk immediately, spending the majority of his rookie year lamenting the “one that got away”, Paul Pierce, who was standing out as a rookie in Boston. It didn’t help that Don Nelson went on record claiming Dirk would be the Rookie of the Year. There was a big target on his back and NBA guys feast on that.  Dirk was singled out.  Don and Donnie were not rattled by his lack of production.  Don had put that target on his back for a reason making Dirk go through two extra work outs every single day, even on game days.  Teammate Cedric Ceballos said Dirk would be so tired by the time games came around he would pick up two fouls early just to get a rest.  Don was instilling a work ethic.  He was showing Dirk what it meant to be elite, to play with expectations, something every single NBA player will have to face at some point if he wants to succeed. 

The abbreviated season ended with another losing record and playoff miss but not all was sour.  Point guard Steve Nash, who had missed half the season with an ankle injury showed a sign of things to come with 6 double-doubles in the last month.

Things changed for Dirk in year two soaring from 8.5 ppg to 17.5 and literally improved in every single statistical category including a big jump in 3 point percentage.   He was a 7 footer shooting the ball like nothing anyone had ever seen, unloading catapults from way above the defenders reach, galloping down the court like a gazelle and finishing awkward deliveries with a smoothness resembling a 7series.  All of this with the mop head, flailing arms, smirks and grimaces we have grown to love.  They finished 40-42, again missing the playoffs but there were very clear silver linings.  Dirk would earn Most Improved Player and the big three (Nash, Finley, Dirk) were rounding into form.  After starting the year 11-24, they finished 29-19.  This split occurred January 15, 2000 when Mark Cuban, a young billionaire bought the Dallas Mavericks. 

Cuban's Mavericks

Mark Cuban grew up an overweight kid with coke-bottle glasses and a passion for stamp collecting.  As a young boy, he laid out one clear goal- to be rich.   Those dreams were realized when he was able to cash in on the dotcom boom and sell his Internet company for billions.  Armed with loads of cash and loads of time, he invested into basketball in Dallas.   Cuban set a tone from the start, bringing in Dennis Rodman (a move lasting only 12 games) as more of a publicity stunt than anything else. 

Unlike the luxury box owners, Cuban, already an avid season ticket holder, opted to sit courtside with the fans donning team jerseys and engrossing himself in the action.  For better or worse, Cuban was rewriting the rules. 

In Dirk’s third year, Cuban’s first full year as owner, the Mavericks had their greatest success in over 20 years, winning 50 plus games and making the playoffs with the fourth ranked offense.  Life was surely injected into Dallas basketball.  A buzz surrounded all things Mavericks.  In a first round meeting with the aging Utah Jazz, the young hipster Mavericks fell down 0-2 before rattling off three straight including a come-from-behind defining win in game 5 on Utah’s home court. 

The next season welcomed the opening of the American Airlines Center, a world class, ground-breaking sports arena that put Dallas on the map.  Dallas would again improve on the court but the Cuban distractions began to mount.  One specific incident that year involved Cuban criticizing the refereeing and saying Officiating Manager, Ed Rush “wouldn’t be able to manager a Dairy Queen” leading to Cuban apologizing a working for a day as a manager of a Dairy Queen in Texas. 

First Signs of Trouble

Dallas cruised into the playoffs with 57 win team (franchise record) and the number one offense in basketball.  The playoffs kicked off with a dramatic Portland series that saw Dallas go up 3-0 before dropping 3 straight and pulling out the win in game 7.  Next, Dallas met with the pesky Kings who had been one-bounce short for the past few years.  Webber suffered a career-threatening knee injury in game two but the Kings fought with everything they had until the Mavs prevailed in 7.  This series will always be remembered for the game 3 double-overtime thriller where 1) Nick Van Exel carried Dallas on his back 2) Dirk and Vlade Divac showcased the greatest Euro rivalry to date in NBA history, jawing at eachother and doing everything short of breaking out into a boxing match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AVoxMmpLL4

What Dallas faced next was a San Antonio team built to win with veterans David Robinson, Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, Steve Smith and Kevin Willis, Tim Duncan in the prime of his career, and great young talent in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Stephen Jackson.  After splitting the first two games, Dallas fell in game 3 but the big blow they suffered was on a freak knee-collision between Dirk and Ginobili.  Dirk would miss the rest of the series and after being pushed to the wall in the first two rounds, Dallas did not have enough to match blows with San Antonio.  They ran out of steam in game 6, losing 90-78 and San Antonio went on to win the title.

This week forever altered the landscape of Dallas basketball. 

Coach Don Nelson had a long playing career in the NBA but suffered a similar injury and never fully recovered from it.  Seeing Dirk struggle to even put pressure on the knee, he advised Dirk to sit out and not risk long term damage.  Cuban felt otherwise.  Claiming to have reassurances from team doctors, Cuban felt Dirk had the ability to play and should have been out there.   To this day, Dirk still stands by Nelson’s decision feeling he could not have played. 

Sans Dirk, the Mavericks put in a valiant effort.  In fact, in the decisive game 6, Dallas matched San Antonio shot-for-shot from the floor but could not hit from beyond the arc nor get to the stripe.  Strangely, it was Nash and Finely who didn’t show up.  Nash played 40 minutes and shot 3-10 for only 6 points and Finely only managed 13 points. 

It appears that Cuban panicked greatly after this tough loss.  Losing without Dirk on the floor raised a sense of urgency to fever pitch.  Who compliments Dirk?  We need more fire power.  Don Nelson was phased out of personnel decisions from then on and what happened next would fracture the core of this team. 

The Lost Season

The normally fiscally responsible Mark Cuban snapped after sniffing the NBA Finals.  He led the complete overhaul of a once-balanced roster, bringing in Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Travis Best, Danny Fortson, Antawn Jamison and rookies Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels. 

This new roster was built more like a Fantasy team than a basketball team.  The wrong guys were featured, the first quality draft picks in over five years were not properly utilized and everyone suffered declines.  No where was this more apparent then the decision to pursue and award minutes to Antoine Walker.  Walker averaged 20 ppg with Boston but did so with an inefficient 38%.  He worked with the ball in his hands, more methodic and erratic which completely played out of the strengths of point guard extraordinaire, Steve Nash.  He lumbered, shot erratic and took quality minutes away from Antawn Jamison who was coming off four straight years of 20ppg and 7-8 rpg,  Antawn had started all 82 games for three straight years in Golden State but was down-graded to 2 starts in Dallas. 

In fact, Jamison suffered through the season with his lowest production since his rookie year, only logging 29 minutes a night despite shooting a career best 54% from the floor.  So while a quality player with rebounding ability, mobility and scoring efficiency road the bench, the Antoine version was out there chucking bricks and slowing down Nash’s attack.  The Antoine/Antawn project cost Dallas $26 million but so much more in chemistry and cohesiveness. 

Danny Fortson was a bust, Travis Best barely got used, and Tony Delk who had defined himself as a microwave man saw his minutes slashed in half and a 4 point drop in his nightly production. 

This team never had an identity.  The “wow this could be something special” bubble was popped on night one when the Lakers exposed every weakness.  After playoff success for three straight years, the “Fantasy All Stars” couldn’t get out of the first round.  The big problems?  While the ’03 Mavs had shown huge strides on the defensive end, the ’04 version was 26^th in the league in team defense, noticeably unconcerned with what was happening on that side of the floor.  Further, their lack of identity made them very fragile in tough situations which was highlighted in illuminating fashion by a woeful 16-25 record on the road. 

The line up gyrations of ’04 made the summer more difficult than it had to be.  Dallas was not willing to put up the money to keep Nash in town.  Phoenix out-bid them to get their third stringer back where he would go on to win multiple MVP awards.  Just as Dirk and Nash were hitting their peaks, they were forced apart.

Dallas was unwilling to pay the 31 year old Nash $60 million but they turned around and dumped $73 million of Eric Dampier who had not even amounted to a double-double guy in his career.  Huh???

The logic here was a need for low post defense to protect Dirk.  Was Dampier the answer, especially at the expense of Nash? 

Dallas then packaged Walker and Delk to Atlanta for Nash replacement, Jason Terry and Alan Henderson.   This had to happen and Terry was a great fit regardless of Nash.  He could have been dynamic alongside Nash and given the 31 year old some valuable rest.  Plus, you still would have gotten Antoine out of town.

Then Jamison was traded for rookie Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse which really never had to happen as Jamison could have been a great compliment to Dirk all along.  Think about it… Jamison was extremely efficient, he rebounded on both ends well and could take the larger defensive assignments.  Alan Henderson would have aided in the post greatly and you still had Shawn Bradley and the money thrown at Dampier.  To say Dampier/Terry/Stackhouse/Harris/Henderson was better than Nash/Terry/Bradley/Henderson/Jamison/left over money from Dampier was such a miscalculation it cost Dallas its edge. 

But the pot had already been stirred to a boil.  The knee-jerk reaction (pun intended) to Dirk’s injury and the subsequent playoff loss disrupted the core of this team from a personnel as well as a philosophical standpoint.  Cuban and company (and this includes the Nelson duo) coughed it up badly when it mattered most.  Rather than making the wise moves to get over the proverbial hump, to master the Sisyphus-task (ie Jamison and smart drafting), they vomited all over the roster, thinking big names equaled a winning product and then played it safe letting Nash walk before giving a pile of money to Dampier.  Dirk’s best friend was gone, one year stints with Walker, Jamison, Delk, and Fortson left the roster shaky and directionless, Finely was a year older, a score-first point guard took the reigns and trouble was brewing among management and coaching.  The still waters of Dirk’s prime were ruffled to a swell and in the NBA, it goes by that fast. 

The Terry Years

It would be naïve to say that product that remained post-2004 was inadequate.  Jason Terry was able to gel after a shaky start and Stackhouse was serviceable.   After stinking up the draft for years, Josh Howard and draft-day acquisition Devin Harris gave a vital shot of youth to this team.  Even Nelson walking away and leaving the team in Avery Johnson’s hands seemed to give a new sense of balance to a shaky roster. But this was not the team that should have been built around Dirk.  It was the team they could build around Dirk.  Nash was prospering for the Suns (benefiting greatly from rule changes jettisoning a Nash-renaissance no one fully expected save Dirk and Nash).  He even bounced his former team from the playoffs that year which left Dallas again watching the boulder roll back down the hill. 

Strapped by the luxury tax, Dallas had to waive Mike Finely after ’05 leaving him to join Duncan’s Spurs and go on to win a championship in two years. 

But Mark Cuban did start a booing campaign against Finely in ’06 when the Mavs took out the Spurs in the playoffs so what up now, Finely????

That same year, the Mavs were in the driver’s seat of their first ever NBA finals with a 2-0 lead.  They were coming off of Dirk’s signature moment in a Mavs uniform, the last second 3-point-play to force overtime and an eventual win in game 7 of the Western Conference Semis against nemesis, San Antonio.  Things looked brighter then ever and yet something wasn’t right. 

I still remember clearly watching this team with Dampier on the block, an aging Stackhouse on the wing and Josh Howard a little too green for the moment and thinking if this ever gets close, these guys are in trouble. 

Sure enough, Wade took over.  Agreed, he got some help from the officiating (25 free throws in game 5 vs. 25 free throws for the entire Dallas team) and a phantom call against Dirk in the deciding moments leaving Dirk to do nothing but stand there and stare. 

What made that Finals loss to Miami even tougher to swallow was watching a rejuvenated Antoine Walker become oddly efficient in the series deferring to Wade and Shaq while knocking down open shots and attacking the boards like he was a Wildcat again.

So Dallas was back at square one again.  The hill looked more daunting than ever but the ’07 Mavs came out scorching.  Always known for their offense, they kicked up a defensive intensity never seen before finishing 5^th in the league in team defense and winning a league-best 67 games.   This team was different, playing at a pace unlike its predecessors, seemingly built for a sustained playoff run, even acquiring wily veterans to fill out the roster.  But one thing they could have never accounted for was an inside man who knew the tricks, the exploitable spots, every vulnerability and insecurity the organization had, and a raging case of palpable revenge to boot.  That man was Don Nelson.

As fast as Dallas rose in ’07 it came crashing down even faster and even harder in a stunning first round loss to Nellie’s Golden State Warriors.  Dirk couldn’t even smile when he was awarded his first career MVP trophy the next week.  The bad taste so common was again in everyone’s mouth.  And Nelson was galloping away a happy man. 

In 2008, Dallas was forced to respond to the Gasol maneuver.  They dumped promising young point guard Devin Harris for the mid-thirties Jason Kidd.  Kidd gave Dirk his first Nash-like running mate in four years but Kidd had long peaked, and left Dallas stranded against a young slew of point guards.  This could not have been personified more than in the first round playoff loss to New Orleans and Chris Paul where Kidd could barely read the back of Paul’s jersey as he blew past him again and again.

What Does It All Mean?

So now here we are.  It is 2009 and Dirk is still pouring in MVP-caliber numbers.  This year’s product is older yet younger at the same time with Barea, Beaubois, and Ross pitching in.  Gooden and Marion are flanking Dirk much like a B or C rate version of what Jamison/Howard could have been in 2005 and they are still on the hook $25mil to Dampier.  Meanwhile, Nash is leading another Phoenix Renaissance and the Knicks are terrible (I just wanted to throw that in).  Dirk’s NBA tombstone is beginning to be chiseled with the words “Never won the big one”. 

Stop for a minute and appreciate what makes Dirk, Dirk.  He is a deadeye assassin.  He sees scoring angles more like a Peyton Manning sees angles on the football field.  Through all of the drama, on the court and off the court, nothing has really changed.  In a free agent era, he has been more loyal to a franchise than that franchise could ever be back to him.  In the long list of NBA stars over this current generation, one of the thinnest slices is guys who remained on one team.  In my mind the list reads like this- Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki.  Kobe needed Shaq and then he needed Gasol to bring home the ring.  Pierce needed Garnett, Ray Allen and a break out effort from Rondo.  Duncan had a whole cast of supporters from David Robinson to Robery Horry, to Tony Parker to Manu Ginobili.  What’s left?  Alone Dirk remains, a loyal soldier who could pick off the enemy from miles away but never saw the second cavalry appear on the hill tops.  Will Dirk be buried in these colors?  Will he make that last ditch effort to attain his final goal a la Karl Malone?  It just wouldn’t seem right but can you blame him?

The question that remains for me is what makes Dirk so different from a Tim Duncan who achieved monumental success as a pro?  Both will be remembered forever as players redefining their positions in different ways.  Yet, one will be remembered as a truly great winner, the other simply as a great player and a great guy.  The difference is wholly dependent upon the organizations they play for. 

The way I see it, salary aside, an organization can affect their superstar in three main ways- the draft, complimentary players, and stability. 

The Draft

I mentioned the draft misses before Dirk.  Dirk became the greatest foreign player in NBA history and a year later, the Spurs got Ginobili who arguably is second.  This opened the flood gates for international speculating.  Post-Dirk Dallas went after 8 foreign players and Gordon Giricek was the best by a long shot which really doesn’t say much.  Meanwhile the Spurs over that same period drafted Tony Parker, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, Beno Udrih, Leandro Barbosa and seven others who either didn’t pan out or are making strides in the D League.  Over that same time period the top Maverick draftees were Josh Howard, Etan Thomas and Maurice Ager.  No one else of consequence can even be mentioned.   The Spurs, constantly drafting in late rounds managed to bring in John Salmons, Marcus Williams, George Hill, DeJuan Blair and all of those foreign players mentioned before. 

San Antonio also has proved adept at utilizing the D-League and are one of the first organizations along with the Lakers, Rockets and Thunder (any surprise these teams are succeeding and loaded for the future?) to own their own D League team and use it as a true minor league system, cashing in on hot guys such as Devin Brown in their ’07 title run.  Dallas has not made that commitment yet but is starting to understand the importance of this asset, cashing in on D League call up Jose Barea this season.

Complimentary Players

 It is clear that Dallas allowed the '03 playoff collapse to alter their foundation.  Meanwhile Duncan played with one of the most stable rosters year-after-year.  The Spurs dedicated themselves to surrounding him with proven veterans (Danny Ferry, Robert Horry, Kevin Willis, Mike Finely).  The key to those rosters is that everyone fit into the system. 

In Dallas, Dirk flourished in a style of basketball affectionately referred to as “Nellie Ball” which is predicated upon fast-paced offense, athleticism, and out running opponents and has the dubious distinction of never producing a champion.  The combos Nellie through out were insane.  In their best window from 02 to 04, Nellie changed starting line ups 58 times in 02, 53 times in 03 and 46 times in 04.  Think about that... a starting roster on average didn't last 2 straight games!  By contrast, the teams who knocked them out had starting line up changes of 24, 19 and 9.  Lack of consistency, an utter lack of concern for defense and a coach who holds the record for most games coached while never coaching an NBA Finals game, let alone win a tile.   These were not Dirk problems. 

Organizational Stability

The Dirk era has been marred by public squalls among Dallas brass.  Cuban and Nelson are still battling in court over $7 million in refused salary, an amount that an arbitrator ruled was due to Nellie but Cuban refuses to pay.  Cuban put his teams in the lap of luxury with state of the art facilities perhaps instilling a sense of complacency seldom attached to champions.  Further, his public outbursts and fines totally close to $2million have taken attention from winning and given referees (yes, they are human) as well as Stern ample reason to give the close calls to the other side.
 

Final Words

Like the myth of Sisyphus, Dallas seems destined to carry their burdens for eternity.  But as it goes in sports, the franchise will move on and the players carry the scars.  Dirk will be remembered by some as “soft in the big moments” despite averaging a playoff double-double every year since ’01, shooting 40% from beyond the arc, 88% from the stripe, 45% from the field and getting more efficient (23.9 PER regular season vs. 24.4 post season) in the playoffs.  The prime of his career was shared by a mish mosh of egos, agendas and dollar-chasing opportunists.  The delicate balance between champion and contender proved too faulty to cross.

I just can’t help but wonder what-if Dirk’s prime hadn’t been marred by poor management decisions, or what if that knee injury never happened?  Are we painting Dirk in a different light?  In the end, what does it really matter?  Dirk has achieved something unprecedented.  Further, he single handedly built a basketball temple in the wasteland that was Dallas.  His worth to that city is immeasurable, not to mention his worth to Germany and  foreign basketball players alike.  Dirk redefined a position, took his game to the highest levels possible, forever altered the greatest basketball league in the world, and to top it all off, he did it with a smile.  Can we really ask for anything more? 

Rest well Dirk.  I relieve you of your burdens.  

Bull Trip

According to TrueHoop affiliate bullsbythehorns.com, the Chicago Bulls recently began their annual "Circus Road Trip".  Every year around this time, the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailly circus takes over the United Center in Chicago for a few weeks.  So the Bulls hit the road and this has not been good news for them.  Going into this season, the Bulls have been 9-56 since 1999 which included an 0-32 streak from 99-03.

This year was more of the same for a Bulls team that actually started out this year in good shape at 5-4 through some injuries and a pretty tough early schedule.  Then the circus happened.

Here is how the Circus Road Trip went down:

Win at Sacramento-  Good start.  10-56.... 6-4 things are looking up
Loss at LA Lakers by 15- Ok, everyone saw that one coming.  Still over .500
Loss at Denver by 19- Tough break.  Stay positive. Still. 500
Loss at Utah by 19.  Ew.  What on Earth?  Ok, can still finish the road trip at .500 for the year.
Loss at Milwaukee by 2.

If you had never heard about the Circus Road Trip before, don't feel bad. Apparently Chicago Bull, Joakim Noah had not either...

Joakim Noah, currently the league’s leading rebounder by the way (12.2 RPG), until recently had no idea what the circus trip was all about. Said Noah: “Why do they always call it the circus trip? What’s so circus about it anyway?”
That’s okay, Jo. You just keep concentrating on crashing the boards.

Do you think they just sit him on the team bus, give him an ice cream cone and say "Sit still until the big bus stops and then you can play allll the basketball you want!"

I love this game.