Overshadowed by Jerry Jones’ Cowboys, Mark Cuban’s Risky Gamble Saved the Mavericks and Kyrie Irving’s Legacy

Very few might have seen the Dallas Mavericks be one step away from making it to the NBA Finals. Their turnaround came almost instant during the trade deadline. Trades for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford have been key. Their presence in the starting five addressed the previous woes Luka Doncic and the Mavericks suffered from. Then of course, there was the home run to acquire Kyrie Irving despite his turbulent stint with the Brooklyn Nets. The former number-one pick has been a blissful addition, stepping up when Doncic can’t and giving the Mavericks a second closer in nailbiting situations.

It took a lot of bravery and courage from Mark Cuban and his front office to pull off such trades. They sacrificed both their first-round picks, one each in the Washington and Gafford trade. The results were just as the franchise projected. Gafford became a shot-blocking and interior menace. Washington provided passionate defense and regular scoring as the third option. Kyrie Irving accepted his role as the secondary star and in a matter of one full off-season they became one of the most ruthless and conniving scoring duos in the NBA. Doncic has credited Irving several times and has grown accustomed to his play style. The two mix as well as water and salt.

When Colin Cowherd spoke about the Mavericks’ movements, he referred to them as “really smart, thoughtful swings”. The veteran analyst compared them to Pat Riley’s bold decision-making with the Miami Heat franchise such as signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the same offseason.

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But what would the story be if these trades weren’t as viable, what would the story be? Cowherd thinks the Mavericks have an unspoken advantage of existing in the same town as the Dallas Cowboys. “I think the advantage to being the Mavericks is when we make little mistakes, people don’t pay attention to them. They pay attention to the Cowboys. That’s a Cowboy town. So you are allowed to be a little bit under the radar in terms of the national scope and even local scope because you’re in the Cowboys market”, claimed Cowherd.

USA Today via Reuters

The Cowboys are one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises. Several Hall of Famers have graced the grass at AT&T Stadium. Home to five Super Bowls, the $9 billion NFL franchise is widely regarded as ‘America’s Team’. As far as the Mavericks go, they are the 7th most valuable franchise in the NBA listed at $4.5 billion as of last year according to Forbes. Yet, in the city’s market, they have to compete with one of the biggest teams in the National Football League.

So yes, maybe their mistakes could be overlooked by the Dallas crowd. However, that shouldn’t take any credit away from the new ownership, Cuban, and the front office. Their compiled efforts have placed the Mavericks in the driving seat to advance to their first NBA Finals since Dirk Nowitzki in 2011.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving continue to break barriersGoing into the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas fans couldn’t have been breathing easy. At one end was a budding Anthony Edwards, ferocity palpable in his steps and brimming with confidence. They had just beaten the defending champions in 7 games. Moreover, the Wolves ranked as the best defensive team, anchored by the DPOY Rudy Gobert. The threat of Naz Reid loomed largely as well.

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It would have taken something special from the tandem of Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They have managed to do just that. In the three games of the series that the Mavericks have gone spotless, Luka Magic has scored over 30 in each of those contests. Alongside his brilliance is the elegance of KAI. His clutch shot-making and crafty scoring has proven to be a nightmare to guard for Ant, leaving the 22 year old drained by the time the fourth quarter arrives.

Over the last two games, the pair have combined to score at least 60 points. It was the third time they had done it in this playoff run, the most for a duo in NBA history. But what makes them so successful? It is probably because they don’t distinguish between scoring options, it’s all about playing as a singular unit.

“It’s easy to play alongside somebody like that. But you also have to be sure of yourself because when somebody’s that special it’s easy to kind of fall into that secondary role. There’s no primary, secondary – we’re one team. We succeed together. We fail together,” Irving said earlier this month about the Mavericks.

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Doncic and Irving have also grown a solid relationship off the court with the veteran guard even assisting Doncic as he became a father for the first time. Speaking of duos, if you want to know the story of how Shaq and Kobe Bryant got together, check out our exclusive with the Big Diesel’s former agent Leonard Armato who detailed the entire chronology in the video below.