During his final season in the league, 2018–19, Dirk Nowitzki was a shell of his former self. He was having trouble keeping up with the ups and downs of NBA play when he came off the bench. Mark Cuban, the principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks at the time, was concerned about the Mavericks‘ ability to succeed after he left. But his fears were dispelled by Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic’s extraordinary rise.
Cuban thanked the former Wildcat on Brunson’s Roommates show for helping the Mavs make a seamless transition in the years following Nowitzki. The 66-year-old talked about his unease during the 2018–19 season, which started on draft day of that year.
He mentioned that Doncic wasn’t thought to be good enough to be selected in the top three in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Mark Cuban thanks Jalen Brunson
Nevertheless, in order to get Luka Doncic, the Mavericks moved up from fifth to third place. They then hit gold in the second round when they selected Brunson at number 33. Cuban and the Mavs made a risky but highly profitable decision to center the team around Doncic and Brunson rather than Dennis Smith Jr., the ninth choice in the previous year’s draft.
Due to Doncic’s and Brunson’s quick skill development, the choice worked out beautifully. Consequently, Cuban presented Brunson with his flowers, stating that he played a significant role in the team’s recent success. He said :
“That was a scary season for us because we had traded up to get Luka and he wasn’t a consensus top-three pick in the draft. We had Dennis Smith from the previous year. It was Dirk’s last year. So just trying to figure all that out and see what we were gonna be. How things were going to go moving forward. Kudos to you because you made it all work for sure.”
Brunson stated that even though he was overlooked in the 2018 NBA Draft, he made every effort to support the Mavs organization. He did play a significant role in turning the 2011 Champions around. In the long run, the franchise benefited from the actions made in 2018.
