Dallas Mavericks and the Art of Staying Relevant

After losing Jason Kidd to the New York Knicks and Jason Terry to the Boston Celtics, and also missing out on Deron Williams, the Mavericks—Dirk Nowitzki and all—hardly looked like a team fit to take the court, let alone a playoff contender.

It was then that they signed Chris Kaman to a one-year deal, amnestied Brendan Haywood and traded for Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones.

And now, Dallas also has plans to strongly pursue the services of the recently amnestied Elton Brand and Luis Scola, increasing the chances that they rebuild a playoff contender overnight even further. The Mavericks’ reported attempt to trade for Jose Calderon of the Raptors isn’t hurting their cause either.

Without landing any of their first options and losing a significant amount of their supporting cast, the Mavericks have managed to stay relevant. Dirk Nowitzki would have kept Dallas relevant to a certain extent regardless, but its subtle pick ups of impact role players are more than admirable and integral moving forward.

At a time when the Mavericks could have rolled over and patiently waited for next summer, they took action. Overnight, they have went from a bona fide playoff team gone wrong, to an organization with hope for the immediate future. You just can’t teach that nor can you find a legitimate way to disprove it.

Despise Mark Cuban and the financially safe Mavericks all you want, but the resiliency they displayed after striking out in the opening days of free agency is anything but laughable. They’re not title contenders, but they were never going to be unless Williams entered the fold.

But while they may not be title contenders, they are a team worth watching, one that has a strong chance at clinching another playoff berth next season.

And considering where the Mavericks were but 24 hours ago, that’s nothing short phenomenal.