Is Mark Cuban Really A MFFL?

LeRoyMcConnell IIIFor those who don’t know what MFFL means: Mavs Fan For Life.  It was Mark Cuban’s, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, way of saying jump on board and I will take you to the promise land.  Well, I did, in fact he made me a big believer, soon as he took over a dismal team that was far from irrelevancy back in 2000.  He orchestrated a squad, led by future Hall of Fame Dirk Nowitzki to two NBA Finals, winning one of them back in 2011.  Whom, 2011,  seems like a distant memory now, especially when Mark Cuban did the inevitable. He dismantled a NBA championship team. Not since, Michael Jordan, Chicago Bull’s teams in the late ’90s did we see a such thing.  Instead of challenging for a repeat, he decides to render the services of Tyson Chandler.  Chandler, who played one season with the Mavs, is the best center in Dallas Mavericks history.   Cuban had an opportunity to use the amnesty clause on Brendan Haywood in order to keep Chandler, instead he elected to watch Tyson leave for free agency without compensation.  Funny thing about it, he held onto Haywood the year after the championship, only to use the amnesty clause on him during this past offseason.  Other intrigued pieces to the championship were Caron Butler (who was injured but still valuable), J.J. Berea (who was the smallest Maverick but added valuable points off the bench), Deshawn Stevenson (who provided toughness and gritty defense), and Jason Terry (who was the heart and soul, a true Maverick, who walked and talked a NBA championship for the Dallas Mavericks).   Amnesty Clause: The NBA’s next collective bargaining agreement may include some form of “amnesty clause,” allowing teams to eliminate bad player contracts under certain conditions.   Is the sky falling?  MFFL, take a deep breath and ask yourself, ”WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?” Has Cuban lost his mind? YES!  Okay, deep breath taken, what are you going to do MARK CUBAN? Mark Cuban has been preaching that the most important thing today is financial flexibility; his plan was to be a central figure in the 2012 trade market.  Since he has owned the team, he has never had flexibility to land free agents because money is always tied up.  The team is getting old and its the first time the Mavericks can possibly add a superstar to play alongside Dirk.  “Okay, you have my attention”, intrigued Mavs fan.  On paper, it sounds like a slam dunk.  Grabbing Deron Williams who is from the Dallas area and  somehow luring Dwight Howard.  Now I understand why we would get rid of Tyson, to get Dwight, makes sense to me. Jason Kidd already said he would sign back because of his relationship with Deron Williams.   The 2012 free agency was to be an upbeat time for MAVSNATION, as we were to start the season better than ever.  Only one thing, Cuban didn’t land that big fish, didn’t close the deal on a superstar free agent.   Excuse me, doesn’t Mark Cuban star on the ABC hit show, Shark Tank?  On his show he is an investor looking to capitalize on small business owner inventions.  He is pretty savvy and the show demonstrates why he is a shrewd business man.  Is Shark Tank  the reason why Mark Cuban couldn’t land a top free agent this summer?  Marcel Mutoni from Slamonline wrote an article about the top free agent Deron Williams being pursued by the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. According to Deron Williams, one of the biggest reasons he’s not a Dallas Maverick today, is that Mark Cuban didn’t show up for a meeting. Cuban was busy taping his TV show “Shark Tank” in California, and sent Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson to meet with the free agent superstar point guard. This did not sit well with D-Will, who felt that his questions about the direction Dallas was taking were left largely unanswered. Deron Williams fell through and stayed with the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic gave Dwight Howard up for a cup of coffee to the LA Lakers.  The Mavericks couldn’t even keep old man Kidd, who belted to the Knicks to play with former teammate Tyson Chandler.  Flexibility, now that’s funny, the Dallas Mavericks have all this flexibility in the world and can’t sign a single superstar to play with Dirk.   The only option for the 2012-13 season was to sign journeymen (Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, O.J Mayo, Dahntay Jones and Darren Collison) to one year contracts.  As a MFFL, I am so ecstatic!  Watching a team with a record of 16-23 each night.  This is what the MFFL had envisioned for our big free agent season.   Just two years removed since the Dallas Mavericks fans witnessed their first NBA championship and now their beloved team can’t even compete for the 8th seed in the western conference.  So Mr. Cuban, why are you being so brass now, and telling the basketball world you are ready to deal for players now?  According to Brad Townsend, a reporter for the Dallasnews.com., Mavericks owner Mark Cuban declared that there was a 100-percent chance that the Mavericks will try to make a trade before the Feb. 21 trade deadline.  Monday, Cuban practically stated his intentions in a Jimmy Johnson-esque three-inch headline, saying, “We’re letting everybody know the Bank of Cuban’s open. And if it’s the right deal, we don’t mind taking back money. But we’re not going to do a trade just to do a trade. It’s got to be worthwhile.” Only one problem Mark Cuban,  no one wants to come to Dallas. Sports-Kings - The Kings of Sports Lists