Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has paid well for his team’s present success. But he has also been investing in its future.
Cuban has turned to his pocketbook in trying to make sure the Mavericks’ success isn’t fleeting.
Of the Mavericks’ 15 players under contract, eight are signed through the 2005-06 season. Point guard Steve Nash is signed through 2004-05 but can opt out of his contract after the ’03-04 season and look for a lucrative six- or seven-year deal.
Cuban’s theory is that if players know they’re going to be with one team for the long haul, they will concentrate on their duties on the court and spend less time worrying about who will be signing their future paychecks.
“It creates solidarity,” Nash said. “It also makes everyone comfortable and less preoccupied with things they can’t control.”
Cuban signed forward Dirk Nowitzki, guard Michael Finley, center Shawn Bradley and forward Eduardo Najera to contracts through the ’07-08 season; guard Nick Van Exel is under contract through ’05-06; and center Raef LaFrentz is signed through ’08-09.
With his core group signed, Cuban has avoided an awkward situation the Los Angeles Clippers have; most of the Clippers’ top players–guard Andre Miller, center Michael Olowokandi, and forwards Elton Brand, Lamar Odom and Corey Maggette–are disappointed with management because they do not have contracts beyond this season.
“We think we’ve got a great nucleus, and [the Mavericks are] young enough that if everybody stays together, we should just get better,” Cuban said. “We keep talking all the time about how it takes years, and we’ve had four guys who have been here for a long time.
“So that’s the focus: Keep them together and see what happens.”
Cuban’s commitment and the team’s youth–Van Exel and Bradley are the only members of the Mavericks’ core group who are not 20-something–help secure the Mavericks’ ability to be competitive for years.
Bradley said that when he played for Philadelphia and New Jersey, those organizations were in disarray because players were shoveled in and out.
“But when I got on this team and we stuck to the nucleus of people, we saw marked improvement year to year,” Bradley said.
“If you look at the teams that have won championships consistently, or multiple championships, they are teams that stuck with their core nucleus, not teams that have changed their rosters every year.
“And that’s a good feeling for everyone. Everyone’s comfortable and wants to be here, and the organization is committed to the players and the players are committed to the organization.”
Not so long ago, that wasn’t the case.
General manager and coach Don Nelson, who has been with the Mavericks since Feb. 7, 1997, has played a big role in shaping the future of the franchise. Nelson has seen the Mavericks’ transformation from one of the league’s most beleaguered franchises into one of the best. The Mavericks are beginning their second season in the American Airlines Center and are coming off two consecutive playoff runs.
“I think this is the NBA’s model franchise, and I’m proud to be part of it,” Nelson said. “We’ve got our best players under long-term contracts, they’re a good group of guys and they’ve matured very nicely.”
Finley has the longest tenure of any of the Mavericks, having arrived from Phoenix on Dec. 26, 1996, in the Jason Kidd trade.
Finley said the Mavericks were like a ship without a rudder during his early years with the team, but with the core group under contract for several seasons, he believes the waters will be calm.
“I’ve always wished and prayed and hoped that the organization would turn the corner, and it finally did,” Finley said. “I’m just glad and blessed to still be a part of it, knowing that I had a little bit to do with the success that we have right now.
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Paying for continuity
Lengths and value of contracts for players on the 2002-03 Mavericks roster (total value of contract in millions):
PLAYERS YR VALUE LENGTH
Michael Finley 7 $102.2 2007-08
Dirk Nowitzki 6 $79 2007-08
Nick Van Exel 7 $77 2005-06
Raef LaFrentz 7 $69 2008-09
T. Abdul-Wahad 7 $43.3 2006-07
Steve Nash 6 $33 2004-05
Shawn Bradley 7 $30.5 2007-08
Eduardo Najera 6 $24 2007-08
Evan Eschmeyer 6 $19 2006-07
Avery Johnson 3 $15 2003-04
Popeye Jones 1 $1.3 2002-03
Walt Williams 1 $1.3 2002-03
Adrian Griffin 2 $1.2 2002-03
Raja Bell 1 $612,000 2002-03
A. Harrington 1 $349,458 2002-03
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Nash can opt out of his contract following the 2003-04 season.