Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a shrewd businessman. He’s outspoken. He is one of the biggest personalities in the NBA, but has never played or coached a game. He is polarizing, and he is full of himself. He loves to quote Ayn Rand almost as much as he likes feeling like the smartest person in the room all the time. When the Mavericks failed to land free agent All-Star point guard Deron Williams in 2012 because Cuban skipped a chance to meet with Williams to film an episode of Shark Tank, basketball writers around the country and around the world jumped at the chance to poke fun at the Internet billionaire, but looking back on it, not signing Deron Williams was the smartest thing Cuban could have done.
This isn’t a knock on Deron Williams (although it is a little bit). He’s a very good player, but he’s very well paid in an era where everyone seems to have at least a pretty good point guard. Williams signed a five year $98.7 million contract to remain with the Nets as they planned to move from New Jersey to Brooklyn. Only Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, who signed a five year $107 million contract the following summer, makes more money from the point guard position than Williams. Williams and Paul came into the NBA in the same year (Williams was drafted third by the Utah Jazz, and Paul was drafted fourth by the New Orleans Hornets in 2005), and for many years, “who’s better: Williams or Paul?” was a serious debate among basketball fans, but no longer. In the years since Williams re-signed with the Nets and the Nets moved to Brooklyn, Williams has become stagnant, battled injury, and his team has underachieved, while Chris Paul is the best player on one of the best teams in the NBA’s best conference.
The red flags with Williams were apparent before Cuban had the chance to sign him, but people were willing to overlook them because of his talent. It took him a while to earn a “coach killer” reputation, but once he got it, he really got it. In 2011, his falling out with Jazz head coach (and Hall of Famer) Jerry Sloan forced Sloan into midseason retirement. Two weeks later, Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets. After Sloan, he played under Tyrone Corbin (briefly before getting traded out of Utah), Avery Johnson, P.J. Carlesimo, Jason Kidd, and now Lionel Hollins. Six head coaches have attempted to coach Deron Williams in the last four calendar years, and in that time, Williams has been leapfrogged by Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, John Wall, Goran Dragic. Russell Westbrook, and Kyrie Irving (if not, more players) in the hierarchy of point guards in the NBA. Even without the “coach killer” reputation he earned when he forced out a coach who had been in the same city since 1988, he it’s a bad contract two years later because the NBA is in the midst of a point guard renaissance and the supply of good point guards is so great, it would be silly to pay someone like Williams that much.
Not having to pay Williams has allowed Dallas to do other things to rebuilt and retool. Since Cuban’s infamous scheduling conflict, the Mavs have added Tyson Chandler (who was a key part of their 2011 championship squad, and would be a surefire Hall of Famer if he had played his whole career for Rick Carlisle or alongside Dirk Nowitzki), Chandler Parsons, Monta Ellis, and Rajon Rondo, while also being able to keep Dirk Nowitzki. While their defense is lacking, the Dallas Mavericks run a simple, yet ingenious offense that works beautifully with the personnel and the coach they have. Any variable, like Williams dribbling too much, or butting heads with head coach Rick Carlisle, and Dallas would not be as efficient as they are now. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have too much money tied up in Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez, and they are struggling just to stay in the playoff picture in the less than loaded Eastern Conference. Williams is no longer the impact player he was in Utah, and the Nets do not have the flexibility to build around him. They also cannot build through the draft because of trades that send their first round picks to the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics (Danny Ainge is a genius!) for years to come. They have no present, and no future, but their payroll is that of a championship contender.
This time, Mark Cuban got the last laugh. He actually was the smartest guy in the room, and he can write another book or perhaps pitch another reality show from the brilliance of this business non-transaction. Like him or hate him, he nailed it. Wouldn’t it be fun if he was also a hockey or baseball owner? He’s tried to but the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets in the past. I can only imagine what he’d be like in the baseball hot stove league. It would be amazing, and it would be insufferable, and baseball needs a villain owner now that George Steinbrenner is gone. I’m on board.
Dave's Words 