THE MFFL Dream is Dead

One of the more memorable sports memories for me was when the Dallas Mavericks beat all odds to win the 2011 NBA championship. It had all the drama that sports could offer and as a Mavs fan you were on top of the world. That feeling didn’t last long as the team has fallen off to mediocrity in the last five years.

The front-office tried their best to stay relevant and make the last few years of Dirk Nowitzki’s career worth something, but they have failed at getting the “big-fish” superstars to come to Dallas. Now as the second-half of the 2015-2016 NBA season ramps up, the Mavs find themselves sputtering into mediocrity. Fans aren’t connecting anymore and the excitement level for the team is at an all-time low. Now there is a movement to force the team to tear everything apart and build everything through the draft.

I used to be totally against this movement, always preaching that the NBA draft is overrated and this team can be successful if it can just try to land some superstars through free-agency. I am sad to say I was wrong and I fully endorse tanking this team.

It is hard for the Mavericks to really tank anytime soon, especially since Dirk is on the team. Yet, they need to start embracing that mindset now because it seems that is the only way this team is going to get better. Owner Mark Cuban was on the G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan earlier this week and it doesn’t seem like they are going to change their philosophy anytime soon. In fact, Cuban talked about having better player development as a way to ensure a more solid roster.

While I am glad he is fixing some of the issues, he fails to see how the rest of the NBA really is building their teams, which is through the draft. While there are examples of teams that don’t get it right when doing it through the draft, i.e. Cleveland and Philadelphia, there are other teams like the Warriors and the Spurs that dominate the NBA because of their attention to the draft.

Remember guys like Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois and 2015 second-round pick Satnam Singh? Yeah, that is just the tip of the iceberg of how bad the Mavericks are at drafting and this goes back years and years.

So here’s what needs to happen in the next few years. The first move I am advocating is a shakeup in the front office. Keep Donnie Nelson as President of Basketball Operations, but they need to bring in another guy to be the General Manager and be in charge of scouting and the draft. Next, they need to start trading away as many pieces and acquiring younger talent. Make Dirk’s years as comfortable as possible, but at the same time get pieces together to trade for draft picks. The point is to cushion the blow as much as possible, because once Dirk retires; this team is heading straight for the lottery. Tanking is one part of the equation; they still need to acquire talent on a consistent basis.

It is time to get ready for a life without Dirk. It going to suck, but if done right, the light at end of the tunnel can be the glare of multiple Larry O’Brien trophies.