The Mavericks are in a strange place. They're in a place neither Dirk Nowitzki nor Rick Carlisle nor Mark Cuban has been in quite some time. For the first time since the Y2K scare, the Dallas Mavericks are a bad basketball team. There is no cavalry around the corner nor savior riding through the night. Not even an uprise of playoff beards can salvage theis season. The Mavericks are bad, and the sooner that becomes an accepted reality, the sooner this franchise can retool for the future.
It's been five rather eventful years since the 2011 title, but the Dirk window has closed, the latches have locked, and rust has set in.