After the Dallas Mavericks lost out on DeAndre Jordan, Mark Cuban should have made a play for Enes Kanter, a center with just as much upside as Jordan.

But they didn’t, and this decision may wind up haunting the Mavs for the foreseeable future.

Sure, Kanter may not have been a name-brand pickup in free agency, but he did show promise in his second-half stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he displayed the talent that had many calling him one of the league’s next star big men.

Kanter was still on the market when Jordan ditched Dallas at the last moment, but Cuban was still in sour grapes mode after the loss, and that may have clouded his thinking. Instead, he traded for Zaza Pachulia and gave a one-legged Wesley Matthews $13 million more than what he is worth.

Bad moves on both parts; but at least they got Deron Williams to save some dignity this offseason. That has to count for something, right?

But Kanter would have shored up the middle for Dallas, and Rick Carlisle would have given him every opportunity to shine in his offense. It would not have been a stretch to say that Kanter would have been an 18-point, nine-rebound player in Dallas, but now that ship has sadly sailed, as the Thunder matched the Portland Trail Blazers‘ offer sheet to the big man.

The Mavs missed out on a golden opportunity to get a talented young center in a league that has a shortage of them, and Dallas still has a lot of questions at the center position. The Mavs may have the talent to make a run at the playoffs, but Kanter could have easily made them a more competitive team, and he would have been much cheaper than DeAndre.

It’s your loss, Cuban.

Kareem Gantt covers the wide world of sports for Rant Sports. Want to know what’s on his mind? Follow him on Twitter @kganttwrites