Mark Cuban believes Dallas Mavericks still have all the options open – NBA Update
In the 12 years in charge of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban had never faced worst exit out of the playoffs as compared to what the Oklahoma City Thunder handed them last season.
The clean sweep did not come as much of a surprise to many people as the Mavericks owner Cubans did not put together a team strong enough to defend its championship status.
Cuban has been known for speaking his mind and his nonconforming attitude. The decision to put out a depleted roster was one of those decisions. However Cuban remains adamantly firm with the choices he has made and thinks that
getting used to the new restrictions is just one of the steps needed to be taken to be successful in the future.
"The money is secondary to the team-building strategy," Cuban said. "Once you get above the tax apron [the $70.307 million luxury tax plus $4 million], there are limitations in player movement that I think have a big impact on
how to build a team."
Cuban let go of many key pieces involved in bringing home the first ever NBA Championship in franchise history. The most renowned departures from the Championship winning team were of Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea.
The decision may have helped the Mavericks get well below the tax line but considering the immediate status in NBA rankings, Dallas were bound to see a demise and it turned out to be a tragic one.
From being $18 million over the tax line a season before, Mavericks went $9 million below – a new perspective taken by Cuban to build a stronger team in the future. However as wise as the choices made may seem from a financial
point of view, it has come back to haunt the Mavericks as they now are applying a secondary plan.
This off season they lost the Deron Williams’s chase to Brooklyn Nets. Other key pieces lost while the Mavs pursued Williams blindly were Jason Terry and Jason Kidd. In the aftermath of those moves, in order to fill up their roster
for next season, they have been bringing in players on short term contracts.
The financial condition with the Dallas roster is what they could have hoped for before the season starts. Dirk Nowitzki is the only players receiving more the $8.5 million in salaries while the rest of the roster is bound to the
franchise for only a maximum of two years giving them enough cap space for the near future.
This leniency of having enough cap space to be able to afford any expensive contracts in the future is highly beneficial for Dallas. With a lot of salary cap still available the Mavericks have the option of going after any player
they might see fit for their organization even if it means going over the tax line – a fact Cuban is not at all reluctant to deny.
"I expect to go into the luxury tax in the future," Cuban said, "I'm not going to lay down my cards in public."
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