- Mark Cuban looks back on his pursuit of Tyrese Haliburton
- Cuban says he did “everything he could” to pair Luka and Tyrese
- Luka and Haliburton could have been the recipe for success in Dallas
The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in a tricky position entering the 2023-24 season. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on the roster and ready to play, the Mavs are impossible to eliminate as a threat in the West, but they didn’t have much success together in their first run last season.
But did you know that Doncic was almost paired with another All-Star guard instead? Before the Irving trade, Cuban and the Mavericks’ front office were working to bring in Tyrese Haliburton to pair with Irving. “We did everything we could to trade up for Tyrese Haliburton… Rick [Carlisle] was our coach at the time. He goes to Indiana, what’s the first deal he does?”
Imagine the backcourt duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Luka Doncic omg pic.twitter.com/RdFJ4CVg2w
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) August 30, 2023
Tyrese was traded in 2022 by the Kings, who shocked everyone by sending him to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis. Since the big trade, Haliburton has thrived with his new team, elevating to averages of 20.7 points, 10.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game on 49% shooting last year.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, the Mavs were forced to re-group after being denied Haliburton and they settled for Kyrie Irving instead. Irving has been pretty solid for the Mavericks so far and his numbers look pretty great, but he was unable to win games consistently alongside Luka and there are major questions about their potential together.
Perhaps with Tyrese instead, Doncic and the Mavs would have fared better in the Western Conference.
Mavericks Are On A Race Against Time
After a massively disappointing season, the Mavs are feeling increased pressure to find a formula that leads to wins. And with Luka Doncic having separated himself as a generational talent (32.4 points per game last season), now is the time for the Mavericks to go all-in and put their chips on the table.
This upcoming season, look for Dallas to be aggressive in trying to establish itself as a major player in the West standings. But if things fail to work in their favor again, for the second straight year, it could force some on the team to think back on what life could have been with Tyrese Haliburton leading the way.
We will never find out how such a scenario would have played out, but the Mavericks better hope that better days are ahead, or some of their past decisions could come back to haunt them.
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