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Mavericks’ Mark Cuban: Letting Steve Nash Go Is Biggest Regret

By Mike Dyce

Mar 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash (10) looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 143-107. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash (10) looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 143-107. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mark Cuban says letting Steve Nash go is his biggest regret as owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

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The Dallas Mavericks had a contender in the early 2000s, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2003. The following summer after the 2004 playoffs, the Mavericks had a tough situation involving star point guard Steve Nash.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn’t want to extend a long-term contract to the then 30-year-old Nash, and offered him a team friendly deal. Nash got a larger contract offer to return to the Phoenix Suns, a six-year $63 million deal.

Nash took that deal, left the Mavericks and went on to win two NBA MVP Awards. Out of all the regrets Cuban could have as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he said that one was the biggest.

“I learned an expensive lesson,” Cuban said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “It took me too many years to realize that for some GMs, their number-one job wasn’t winning a championship, it’s keeping their job. It’s easy to look back and see my mistakes today. I wish I would have been smart enough to know better back then. I loved taking risks to win. Unfortunately some of them were not as educated as they should have been.”

Cuban and the Mavericks went on to two NBA Finals appearances, winning the title in 2011. Dirk Nowitzki, who Cuban elected to build the franchise around, also won an MVP Award in 2007.

Nash on the other hand never made it to the NBA Finals. Had the two been kept together as they really came into their own, the Mavericks could’ve had a dynasty and a lot of championship hardware.

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