Dirk Dishes On Break-Up Of 2011 Mavs Title Team
DALLAS - Whether giving credit or placing blame, it's important to remember that by the time Dirk Nowitzki had achieved superstardom, he was a fourth member of "The Triangle of Trust,'' joining owner Mark Cuban, GM Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle in the decision-making process of their beloved Dallas Mavericks.
But loyalty and trust aside, that doesn't mean that Dirk the Player was completely on board with the breakup of the Mavs following the 2011 NBA title.
"Sometimes you make business decisions that you regret later and sometimes you get lucky with some, as we did in 2011 with some of the guys (Dallas acquired),'' Dirk said via the Dallas Morning News. "Those are ... tough decisions we made as a franchise. But with Donnie, of course we also made some great decisions over my 20-plus years just to be in a position where we can win 50-plus games over 10 years.
"I think we obviously did more right than wrong,” he said.
Nowitzki isn't just being diplomatic; as I said at the time, the same "idiots'' that opted to disassemble those Mavs were the ones who were smart enough to assemble them in the first place.
As MFFL will recall, it was management's calculated bet that the same aging group - Jason Terry and Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler and yes, even Dirk - were not likely to succeed on that level again. And so, against the wishes of the fan base and surely against the wishes of the players who "wanted to defend what was ours,'' the team was allowed to disband.
Also involved: The NBA was embroiled in a labor dispute following the Dallas title.
“I think what hurt us really was the lockout after winning it all,'' Dirk said. "It’s just that we made some business decisions after the lockout that hurt us a little bit in the long run.''
Nowitzki also flashed back to a half-decade before, when Cuban led the decision to allow budding star Steve Nash to leave for Phoenix. It was a calculated decision based on the distrust in Nash's back issues.
"I thought for sure we should’ve kept him,” said Dirk, and once Nash started winning MVP trophies in Phoenix? Yeah, Mavs management goofed.
But Nowitzki's loyalty is well-placed. When he says, "I think we obviously did more right than wrong,” he means "we'' in a literal sense. "The Triangle of Trust'' was invested, together - and Dallas wouldn't have won its title without that.
