In a recent appearance on the "BIG" podcast , former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban shed some light on the botched trade that would have sent Kobe Bryant to Dallas. According to Cuban, they had a deal in place for Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and draft picks before the then-GM Mitch Kupchak eventually shut it down.
“Do you realize how close we were to trading for Kobe in 2007? I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out with Jerry cause Kobe had asked to leave... and so I talked to him and it was going to be Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and picks [for Kobe Bryant]," said Cuban . "I literally remember telling this dude 'Guess what? Kobe's going to be a Mav.' And I literally thought it was done. Then Mitch Kupchak obviously stepped up and said, ‘We can’t do this,' talked Kobe out of it, and the rest is history."
The split of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 set the Lakers back by years and nearly left them without any superstar. In the aftermath of a few miserable seasons, Bryant (a 5x champion) was done with the Lakers and Mark Cuban was among the first executives to inquire about his potential availability.
Dirk Nowitzki was at the peak of his powers in 2007 and the Mavericks were looking for a star to pair with him and complete a championship team. As it happened, Kobe Bryant had requested a trade from the Lakers that summer and he was also in his prime at just 29 years old.
The Lakers, who were struggling to survive without Shaquille O'Neal, were pushed to the edge with Kobe, and conversations were had with Mark Cuban about a potential trade that would reset everything. Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki would become teammates and put the Mavericks at the top of the West while the Lakers could get pieces to rebuild and acquire assets for the future.
Some cast doubt on Cuban's story and claim that they weren't as close as he might have believed. The Lakers reportedly only listened to the Pistons during that stretch and never had any serious ideas of sending him to Dallas. Nevertheless, Mark Cuban says it almost happened and it would have been glorious to watch.
Together, Kobe and Dirk would have been unstoppable in the West and their offensive brilliance would have overwhelmed their opponents. They might have won not one, but multiple titles together from 2007 until the end of their careers.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, it was never meant to be. Despite Kobe's unhappiness, the Lakers somehow convinced him to stay and they called off any potential trades. Eventually, they brought Pau Gasol into the fold and his arrival helped spark a new era of prosperity for the franchise.
Kobe and Pau won back-to-back championships for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 while Nowitzki won his first in 2011 in a shocking upset win over the Miami Heat superteam. They both retired with their respective teams and never got the chance to help each other win a championship.
But it wasn't for a lack of trying from the Mavericks, who have always done right by their stars to build the best roster possible. Today, instead of Dirk, it's Luka Doncic who the Mavericks are fighting for and they are star-chasing now just like they did back then when they narrowly missed out on trading for Kobe Bryant.
Related: Mark Cuban Says Kobe Bryant Agreed To Play For The Dallas Mavericks In 2007: "He Was Ready To Come To Us.”
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