Dallas Mavericks Should Trade Dirk Nowitzki and Go Into Rebuilding Mode

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The Dallas Mavericks were determined to land a big fish this offseason, but instead they got absolutely hosed by DeAndre Jordan after he reneged on a verbal agreement with them to rejoin the Los Angeles Clippers. So where does that leave Mark Cuban‘s team? I would say firmly in rebuilding mode, and the owner even admitted as much publicly.

“We wanted to get [Wesley Matthews], he was a target for us all summer, and obviously DeAndre as well. But if we got shut out, we weren’t going to just try to fill the roster,” Cuban said in a Dallas radio interview with KTCK-AM 1310. “We had the discussion that if we couldn’t get a serious free agent, whether it was one of the guys still out there or some of the guys who already went, then it was time to take a step back.”

This is not fair to Dirk Nowitzki. He has signed contracts for far below market value allowing the Mavericks cap space to entice a star free agent, and Cuban, time after time, has come up short. The failure to land Deron Williams was because of the owner filming an episode of ‘Shark Tank’, and the Mavericks will never live that one down even if they add an over-the-hill Williams as a consolation prize this summer.

Dallas should move Nowitzki to a contender for a couple of reasons. First, he has earned the right to play for a championship at this stage of his career, and the franchise could get some nice assets back by trading the German big man. The Houston Rockets would be a great fit for him.

Secondly, the Mavericks dealt their 2016 first-round draft pick, top-seven protected, to the Boston Celtics in the Rajon Rondo deal. So if Dallas just misses the playoffs, then that lottery pick goes right to Danny Ainge. Wouldn’t it be a lot better for the Mavs to keep that pick and build around their current core of young players like Chandler Parsons and Matthews? I say yes, and here is hoping that the Mavericks set Dirk free before the season starts, because he has earned better than this.

Dave Daniels is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.

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