How do I feel? Terrible. What do I feel? Rage, probably. It seems a little extreme because, hey its only a sport right? But then on a deeper level, I feel like I've been there with this Mavericks team since Jason Kidd was drafted and I was only 6 years old. But since then I've bled Blue no matter what, through thick and thin. I've laughed at Mark Cubans antics, and shook my head when Dirty Dirk and Nasty Nash dressed up like cowboys, and I cried when they had their Championship hopes stripped away by the infamous and utterly awful debacle that was the Finals series in 2006.
But none of that mattered when I felt a moment of exhilaration and bliss as Dirk and the Mavs hoisted the Champions Trophy in 2011! I cried then too, but tears of joy this time. The elation lasted for an entire year. Nothing could knock my Maverick pride down, not Chandler bolting (or being allowed to), not Lamar Odom and his worthlessness, not even Kevin Durant sweeping the Champs in round one. Even in my personal life, the things that brought me down (and there have been many), the simple thought of the Mavs as Champs could bring me back up again!
It's a rare and beautiful thing when a sport can do that for a person.
However, it is also a dangerous thing. I'm not sure I should feel as strongly as I do for a sports team. Is it immoral? Who knows. What I do know is this: The Mavs had a golden opportunity this summer, to do something that a team has an opportunity to do maybe only once a decade. And I was as excited and as ready as ever to see my team take advantage of such an opportunity, mainly because since Dirk blossomed into what no one expected and for the last fourteen years, there has never been a legitimate opportunity like this for the Mavs. To be so close you could taste it!
This was the chance for a team to rise back up into the echelons of greatness. A chance for a team to unite themselves with a player for the next decade, and hopefully see more championship banners raised in the AAC.
Only one thing stood in the way of the Mavs achieving this dream...themselves.
Not many will admit this, but Deron Williams never wanted to stay in New Jersey/Brooklyn. He wanted so badly to move his family home and done a blue and white Mavs jersey that would one day be retired in the rafters next to Dirk's and Kidd's and Terry's. He wanted to win in his home town, with his family watching, with the team he grew up cheering for. The only thing between he and his desire, was that very team.
The one thing Deron wanted to see from his suitors was sincere love. What any superstar wants to be shown...love. He said it himself, that it wasn't about the money. It was about winning. If that was the case, his choice was a no brainer...even after the Nets traded for Joe Johnson. The Nets are still going nowhere fast. They may make the playoffs, and they may win a few games...but is Joe Johnson, the man who if you looked up ball-hog in the dictionary you'd find a picture of him, really going to put you over the top? Over the top of the Heat, Celtics, Pacers, and Bulls? No. He'll help you get about as far as he ever took Atlanta...which was not all the way.
.jpeg)
So if winning was what it was all about...then why choose the Nets over a proven winner? Was it a popular choice? Of course! The media couldn't wait for him to hurry up and say "I CHOOSE THE NETS"! Not one of the ESPN crew gave the Mavs a shot in hell at luring him to Dallas. But that's because they're numbskulls, and not much more. Decent looking halfwits barely able to read sports news off of teleprompters.
The fact is that the Mavs had the most realistic shot at getting D-Will. Apparently, the Mavs themselves struggled with understanding how delicate the situation was. Like I said before, superstars, whether in film, sports, tv, or media, all desire to be loved. So, how would the Mavs be able to woo D-Will? By showing him the love.
Here is where they missed their mark.
Deron specifically asked for a meeting with Dallas’ recruiting team. He said that Dallas was the only place other than Brooklyn that he would play, which in and of itself sounds like he’s begging the Mavs to give him a reason to make the move. So they scheduled a meeting and we, the anxious fans waited…
Then came the big date. And then came the news that Mark Cuban would NOT be attending the meeting. Apparently that > was way more important. Now, I'm just a lowly fan with no insider knowledge, and only follows the sport religiously, but that sounds to me like not LOVING your superstar. If Cuban makes a face to face with D-Will, and tells him how much this organization needs him, and how much of a hero he would be; the savior of Dallas Basketball. If Mr. Cuban showered Deron with praise and love...I don't think I'd be writing this version of the story.
Now, I'm not saying I know what Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle said to Williams. And I'm really really not sure what Michael Finley had to say...or why he was even there? Shouldn't we have sent Dirk, or someone who matters? But either way I'm sure that they told Deron that we loved him and he would be welcome with open arms in big D. However, I'm not sure that the OWNER told him he would be welcomed with a parade and giant outdoor press conference on Victory Lane, where he'll have a chance to meet the fans and tell them exactly what his plans are for his new franchise!
If he had been told that, would his choice have been different?
If Mark Cuban had shown up in NY with two briefcases, and set each in front of Deron and told him to open the first one. Inside is the cash that Brooklyn would be paying him for that extra year they can offer. Cuban says: "This is (x) amount of dollars and one season, btw that money is significantly less due to state income tax, but this is what the Nets can offer you that we can't." Then he tells him to open the second one, Inside is one simple small thing...a Dallas Mavericks 2011 Championship Ring.
"This is what we can give you an opportunity to get, that the Nets can't!"
Nuff said. Game over. Mavs win.
D-Will is in Dallas shooting around in the AAC with J-Kidd and Dirk and the Mavs are once again on a mission, this time to get Deron a ring. And all the Mavs fans are on that bandwagon for sure!
Well, not everything goes the way it does in my dreams. And I did in fact lay in bed attempting to sleep but instead making my pitch to Deron, word for word as if it was my job to lure the superstar away from Brooklyn and into the awaiting arms of his beloved hometown.
But alas, dreams were crushed. I don’t fault Deron…too much anyway. I still think he made the wrong decision and that the Mavs will be back in contention for a title, one way or another before he will with the Nets. I do however fault Mark Cuban for not taking it seriously enough to get his rich butt on a plane and show up to show some love to the guy he was willing to hand the reigns of his franchise to.
So, on to plans "whatever" and "who cares"! On to probably another season of mediocrity. And t a waste of the last few good years the Mighty German has left. I wonder what's going through his mind during all of this? In either case...I think Mark Cuban owes him and all of Mavs nation a very sincere apology.
However, I fear we'll still be waiting on that when D-Will becomes a free agent again.
