Dallas Mavericks From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dallas Mavericks Conference Western Conference Division Southwest Division Founded 1980 History Dallas Mavericks 1980–present Arena American Airlines Center City Dallas, Texas Team colors midnight blue, blue, silver Owner Mark Cuban General manager Donnie Nelson Head coach Rick Carlisle D-League affiliate Albuquerque Thunderbirds Championships 0 Conference titles 1 (2006) Division titles 2 (1987, 2007) Official website mavs.com The Dallas Mavericks (also known as the Mavs) are the professional basketball team of the National Basketball Association based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1980, the Dallas Mavericks have won two division titles and one conference championship. According to Forbes Magazine, the Mavericks are the third most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $463 million, surpassed only by the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers.[1] Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Early years (1980–1982) 1.2 Rise to power (1982–85) 1.3 A true contender (1985–87) 1.4 Season in ruin (1988–89) 1.5 The Brief return (1989–90) 1.6 Freefalling (1990–92) 1.7 Flirting with futility (1992–94) 1.8 Three Js give Dallas hope (1994–96) 1.9 Starting over (1996–2001) 1.10 2001–2004 1.11 Roster changes lead to Finals 1.12 2006 NBA Finals 1.13 Upset in First Round of 2007 Playoffs 1.14 2008 Jason Kidd trade, and coaching changes 2 Uniforms 3 Head Coaches 4 Season-by-season records 5 Home arenas 6 Transactions 7 Players 7.1 Current roster 7.2 Current depth chart 7.3 Notable players 7.4 All Stars 7.5 Retired numbers 8 References 9 External links 

Franchise history It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled History of the Dallas Mavericks. (Discuss) Early years (1980–1982) In 1979, businessman Don Carter and partner Norm Sonju requested the right to bring an NBA franchise to Dallas, Texas. The last professional basketball team in Dallas had been the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association, which moved to San Antonio in 1973 to become the San Antonio Spurs. At the 1980 NBA All-Star Game, league owners voted to admit the new team, with the team's name coming from the 1957–1962 TV western Maverick. James Garner, who played the namesake character, was a member of the ownership group.


There was some controversy at the time since the University of Texas at Arlington also uses the Mavericks nickname. They joined the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, where they would stay until the league went to six divisions for the 2004–05 season. Dick Motta, who had guided the Washington Bullets to the NBA Championship in 1977-78, was hired as the team's first head coach. He had a well-earned reputation of being a stern disciplinarian, but was also a great teacher of the game. Kiki Vandeweghe of UCLA was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft, but Vandeweghe refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and staged a holdout that lasted a month into the team's inaugural season. Vandeweghe was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with a first-round pick in 1986, in exchange for two future first-round picks that eventually materialized into Rolando Blackman in 1981 and Sam Perkins in 1984. In the Mavericks' debut game, taking place in the brand-new Reunion Arena, the Mavericks stunned the Spurs, 103–92. But the Mavs started the season with a discouraging 6–40 record on their way to finishing 15–67. However, the Mavericks did make a player acquisition that, while it seemed minor at the time, turned out to play a very important role in the early years of their franchise. Journeyman 6'3" guard Brad Davis, who played for the Anchorage Northern Knights of the Continental Basketball Association, was tracked down and signed by the Mavs in December. At the time, there was absolutely no reason to expect that Davis would be any better than the expansion-level talent the Mavs had. But he started the Mavs' final 26 games, led the team in assists, and his career soared. He spent the next twelve years with the Mavericks, and eventually his #15 jersey was retired. The 1981 NBA Draft brought three players who would become vital parts of the team. The Mavs selected 6'6" forward Mark Aguirre with the first pick, 6'6" guard Rolando Blackman 9th, and 6'7" forward Jay Vincent 24th. By the end of his seven-year Mavs career, Aguirre would average 24.6 points per game. Blackman contributed 19.2 points over his 11-year career in Dallas. But it was Jay Vincent who made the biggest difference for the Mavs in their second season, leading the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game and earning NBA All-Rookie Team honors. The Mavericks improved to 28–54, getting out of the Midwest Division cellar as they finished above the Utah Jazz. 

Rise to power (1982–85) In 1982-83, the Mavericks were serious contenders for the first time. At the All-Star break, they were 25–24 and had won 12 of their last 15 games. They could not sustain this momentum, and finishing seven games behind the Denver Nuggets for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. But the Mavs' 38–44 record signified a 10-game improvement from the previous season, and the fact that a third-year expansion team had even been in playoff contention at all was quite remarkable. Mark Aguirre led the 1982–83 Mavericks with 24.4 points per game, finishing sixth in the NBA. Jay Vincent and Rolando Blackman contributed 18.7 and 17.7 ppg, respectively. Brad Davis was 10th in the NBA in assists with 7.2 per game, and shot .845 from the line, 6th in the league. Derek Harper was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1983 NBA Draft. The 6'4" guard would spend the next decade with the organization, averaging 15 points and 6.1 assists. The Mavericks' hard work paid off in 1983-84 as they posted a winning record for the first time in franchise history, finishing 43–39 and second in the Midwest Division. The Mavs also earned the first playoff berth in franchise history. Mark Aguirre was named the team's first NBA All-Star, as he finished with an average of 29.5 points per game—second in the league only to Utah's Adrian Dantley. Dallas finished with the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and their first playoff trip was modestly successful as they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in five games. The fifth and deciding game of that series was played at Moody Coliseum, as Reunion Arena, then the home court for the Mavericks, was hosting a tennis tournament. The Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers were next for the Mavs, and the young club fell short, losing four games to one. But a trade the Mavericks made in their inaugural season of 1980 paid off for them in 1984, because they owned Cleveland's first-round pick, which ended up being the fourth pick overall. The Mavs used it to select forward/center Sam Perkins, a former North Carolina Tar Heel with surprising range from the three-point line who would average 14.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in six seasons with Dallas. About this time, the Dallas Cowboys, once one of the NFL's elite teams, began a slow decline that eventually saw them fall to 1–15 in 1989. The Mavs were hitting their stride at about the same time, and replaced the Cowboys as the Metroplex' glamour team. The 1984-85 team finished a game better than the previous year at 44–38. Mark Aguirre led the team in scoring again with 25.7 ppg, Sam Perkins made the All-Rookie team, and Rolando Blackman represented the Mavericks in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game. The Mavs returned to the playoffs in 1985, but were not as successful as they had been the previous year. They won Game 1 in double-overtime against the Portland Trail Blazers in their first-round playoff series, but lost the next three games in a row, ending their season. A true contender (1985–87) Dallas had the eighth pick in the 1985 NBA Draft—again due to a trade with the Cavaliers—and drafted German-born forward Detlef Schrempf out of Washington. He would show flashes of brilliance in his three-plus seasons with the team, but it was not until he was traded to the Indiana Pacers that he displayed his full potential. The Mavericks also traded center Kurt Nimphius to the Los Angeles Clippers for center James Donaldson, who would play for the Mavericks until halfway through the 1991–92 season. This allowed the Mavericks to have the steady hand at center that had been lacking throughout the franchise's first five years. In 1988 James Donaldson would represent the first and only All-Star center in Dallas Maverick history. Rolando Blackman represented the Mavericks in the 1986 All-Star Game, hosted by Dallas at Reunion Arena. The 1985–86 Mavericks were an extremely high-scoring team by 1980s standards, averaging 115.3 points per game, which would be unheard of in the NBA of the early 2000s. The Mavs made their third straight playoff appearance and defeated Utah three games to one in the first round. In the conference semi-finals, they ran into the Lakers again, and L.A. defeated Dallas in six games. But four of those games were decided by four points or less, and Dallas won half of those, leaving Mavericks fans room to hope that they could finally top the Lakers in the following season. The Mavs drafted Michigan center Roy Tarpley with the seventh overall pick, who would go on to become a very talented—but troubled—member of the roster. The 1986-87 Mavericks team had their most successful regular-season to date, going 55–27 and winning their first Midwest Division title. But despite the great expectations surrounding the team, they self-destructed in the playoffs. After hammering the Seattle SuperSonics by 22 points in Game 1, the bottom dropped out for the Mavs, as they lost Games 2 and 3 in close fashion before succumbing in Game 4 in Seattle. Following the unexpected early playoff exit, Motta, who had been with the team since its inception, shockingly resigned as head coach. John MacLeod, who had led the Phoenix Suns to nine playoff berths in 11 seasons including an NBA Finals run in 1976, was hired as his replacement. The 1987–88 NBA season saw the Mavericks dip just a little bit in the regular season—finishing 53–29 and losing their Midwest Division title to the Denver Nuggets—but it was another successful year for the team. Mark Aguirre and James Donaldson both played in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, the Mavericks rattled off a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, and Rolando Blackman scored his 10,000th career point. Aguirre led the team in scoring for the sixth consecutive year with 25.1 points per game, and Roy Tarpley won the NBA Sixth Man Award with averages of 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds. The season saw the Mavs' deepest playoff run to date. They dispatched the Houston Rockets in four games and the Nuggets in six, leaving only the defending NBA Champion Lakers between them and their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals. The Mavericks gave the Lakers everything they could handle, but in the end the more experienced Lakers prevailed, defeating Dallas in seven games on the way to eventually winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. 

Season in ruin (1988–89) Despite all the changes, the Mavs remained in contention. However, their season effectively ended when James Donaldson went down with a ruptured patella tendon on March 10, 1989 and missed the rest of the season as a result. The Mavericks were left undermanned, demoralized and disheartened as they finished with a 38–44 record. It was their first losing season since 1982–83—which was also the last time they missed the playoffs. The Brief return (1989–90) The Mavericks returned to the playoffs in 1989-90 with a 47–35 record, but it was another season of off-court chaos. On November 15, only six games into the Mavs' season, Tarpley was arrested for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. The team started 5–6 and MacLeod was fired, replaced by assistant coach Richie Adubato. The Mavs finished the season with four straight victories to surge into the playoffs, but went down rather meekly to the Portland Trail Blazers in three games. It would be the team's last winning season and last playoff appearance until 2001. Freefalling (1990–92) The team endured numerous changes in 1990, losing Sam Perkins to the Lakers via free agency and suffering injuries to practically their entire 1990-91 starting lineup. The players they managed to acquire—Rodney McCray, Fat Lever and Alex English—were all in the twilight of their careers. On November 9 it was announced that Fat Lever would have season-ending surgery on his right knee, and that very night, Tarpley suffered a knee injury of his own which ended his season. The Mavericks' season only got worse from there, and they finished with a record of 28–54, the worst in the NBA, falling behind even the second-year Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic. In March of 1991, Tarpley was charged with suspicion of driving while intoxicated and was suspended again by the NBA. It got even worse in 1991-92. Before the season even began, Tarpley violated the league's substance abuse policy for the third time and was banned from the NBA for life. The former Sixth Man Award winner's fall from grace was complete. The few talented players the Mavericks had remaining to them were lost to injury. Brad Davis' back problems forced him to retire in mid-January, and Fat Lever had knee surgery again on January 29, missing the remainder of the season—hardly worth the cost of losing two first-round draft picks. The team finished with a 22–60 record. In 1992-93 the rebuilding began in earnest, with the Mavs trading Rolando Blackman—who by that point had surpassed Mark Aguirre as the team's all-time leading scorer—to the New York Knicks for a first-round draft pick. Blackman had made four All-Star Game appearances in his Mavericks career. Herb Williams joined the Knicks as a free agent. Fat Lever underwent more surgery and missed the entire 1992–93 season. Derek Harper was the team's sole bright spot, leading the team with 18.3points per game. Flirting with futility (1992–94) The Mavericks selected Ohio State guard Jim Jackson with the fourth overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft, but he and owner Donald Carter could not come to terms on a contract for half of his rookie season. Jackson only played 28 games in 1992-93, a year that was also ruined by trades, a coaching change and injuries. The Mavericks started 2–27 and fired Adubato on January 13, replacing him with Gar Heard. The Mavericks came dangerously close to setting the all-time worst record in NBA history (9–73, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers). But when Jackson was signed on March 3, the Mavs managed to rally, closing the season with a 7–14 mark, including two straight wins to end the season. That year the Mavericks finished 11–71 which was the 2nd worst record in NBA history. Dallas selected Kentucky forward Jamal Mashburn with the fourth overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft and hired Quinn Buckner as coach, but the team's progress was minimal, to say the least. Part of the problem was that Buckner decided from the start to be a disciplinarian on the model of his college coach, Bobby Knight. The mostly young roster did not respond very well to Buckner's stern coaching style, and started 1–23. By the end of January they were 3–40, and it was once again possible that they could tie the 1973 Sixers for the all-time worst record in the league. But 5–9 records in February and April, coupled with Buckner loosening the reins a little bit, helped the Mavs finish 13–69. It was still by far the worst record in the league, but the Mavericks again avoided setting an all-time futility record. They did, however manage to tie the NBA's single-season record for consecutive losses at 20 games (since broken). Buckner was fired after garnering the worst full-season record for a rookie head coach (a record since broken). The Mavericks brought back Dick Motta, who had led the franchise to some of its most successful seasons. The Mavericks also wound up with the #2 pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, and picked up Cal point guard Jason Kidd, giving them a solid tandem of Jackson, Mashburn and Kidd which would become known as "The Three Js". Three Js give Dallas hope (1994–96) The addition of Jason Kidd infused the Mavericks with new life in 1994-95. Kidd averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his rookie season, and even led the league in triple-doubles. Roy Tarpley was allowed to return to the league after three years and helped with 12.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The tandem of Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn combined as the league's highest-scoring pair of teammates. On separate occasions, Mashburn and Jackson scored 50 points in a game that season. Mashburn contributed 24.1 points per game, fifth in the NBA; Jackson averaged 25.7 points, but suffered a severe ankle sprain in February which caused him to miss the remainder of the regular season. Second-year forward Popeye Jones had a great year as well, as he averaged 10.6 rebounds and led the NBA in offensive rebounds. The Mavericks' improvement was dramatic. They jumped to 36–46, 10th in the Western Conference and only five games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot. It was the biggest one-year improvement in the team's history, and the highest in the NBA that season. Many expected the Mavericks' improvement to continue with the franchise's first foray into the NBA Playoffs since 1990. But despite a 4–0 start, the 1995–96 season was a disappointment in about every conceivable way. For the second time in his career, Roy Tarpley was given a lifelong ban from the NBA for repeated violations of the anti-drug policy—he never played in the NBA again. Jamal Mashburn had season-ending surgery to repair his sore right knee only 18 games into the Mavericks' schedule. The team's two remaining stars, Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson, bickered throughout the season, though neither of them had any trouble establishing his individual stardom. Jackson led the team in scoring with 19.6 ppg, made 121 three-pointers and was the only Mav to start in all 82 games. Kidd became the first Maverick to be elected a starter in the NBA All-Star Game, and finished second in the league in assists and fourth in steals while averaging 16.6 ppg. 
 
George McCloud, who averaged 9.6 ppg in his previous year, blew away his career-high scoring average as the Mavs resorted to the outside shot time and again due to their lack of an inside scoring threat. McCloud averaged 18.9 ppg and made 257 three-pointers, equaling the second-highest individual season total in league history. Overall, the Mavericks connected on 735 of their 2,039 three-point attempts, both new league records. But that particular statistic is more indicative of the Mavs' desperation to get points from somewhere than of how well they did as a team. The Mavs finished 26–56, fifth in the Midwest Division and 33 games out of first place. At season's end, Motta was relieved of his head coaching responsibilities and replaced by former Bulls assistant coach Jim Cleamons. And Don Carter, the only owner the Mavericks had ever had, sold the team to a group of investors led by H. Ross Perot, Jr.. Starting over (1996–2001) The 1996–97 season was a year of transition for the Mavericks, as they basically re-designed their entire team; 27 different players saw action for this Dallas team, setting an all-time NBA record. By the time the season was over, only rookie forward Samaki Walker remained from the opening-day roster. The first big move came in December, as Jason Kidd, Loren Meyer and Tony Dumas were traded to the Phoenix Suns for guards Michael Finley and Sam Cassell and forward A.C. Green. By far the most important of these acquisitions was Finley who, after his first half-season in Dallas, would go on to average over or near 20 ppg for at least the next seven years of his Mavericks career. He made two visits to the NBA All-Star Game, and even played in each of the Mavs' games until the 2004–05 season. Don Nelson was hired as Dallas' general manager on February 7, and it didn't take him long to leave his own mark on the team. Within a week of his hiring, the Mavs had released Fred Roberts and Oliver Miller and traded Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat for forwards Kurt Thomas and Martin Müürsepp and guard Sasha Danilović. This particular trade didn't really pan out for the Mavs. Thomas did not play in 1996–97, and only ended up playing in five games as a Maverick before signing as a free agent with the New York Knicks. Danilović played in 13 games for the Mavs before opting out of his contract and signing with Bucker Bologna of the Italian League, and Müürsepp played in 73 games for the Mavericks over the next two years before leaving the NBA. Chris Gatling was the Mavericks' sole representative in the NBA All-Star Game, but he did not last much longer in Dallas. In one of the largest two-team trades in NBA history, the Mavericks traded Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, Sam Cassell, George McCloud and Eric Montross to the New Jersey Nets for 7'6" center Shawn Bradley, forward Ed O'Bannon and guards Khalid Reeves and Robert Pack. Nelson claimed the trades were necessary because the situation in the locker room was unacceptable. However, whereas Cassell went on to become a consistent floor leader and Jackson, Gatling and McCloud all continued to be solid contributors to their teams for several more years, only Bradley lasted any sort of time in Dallas and would spend part of the next eight years putting up modest contributions for the Mavs and giving them solid numbers in terms of blocked shots. Undrafted rookie guard Erick Strickland was a pleasant surprise for the Mavs as he averaged 10.6 ppg. He, along with Finley and Bradley, were expected to be the core of this new Mavericks team. The constant changes made it impossible to establish any sort of team chemistry in 1996-97, and the Mavericks finished 24–58. But they had acquired some of the pieces that would help them start to turn things around in years to come. In the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, the Mavericks finished with a lowly 19–31 record, but Michael Finley and Gary Trent put up solid numbers and led their team to their first winning home record (15–10) since 1989–90. Notable were the acquisitions of power forward Dirk Nowitzki and point guard Steve Nash, two seemingly unspectacular moves which would make a great impact in the future. 
 

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Descriptions contained on this page may include content from Wikipedia
With the exception of some images, Wikipedia content is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.