In this edition of The Association, the dynasty will be based on the Dallas Mavericks, starting from the 2016-17 NBA season. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the season length will vastly differentiate from the traditional NBA schedule, cutting down from 82 games to 14 games. Consequently, the regular season schedule will resemble closely to the NFL, with single elimination playoff series. As no games will be simulated, I believe these settings will allow me to get through multiple seasons without burning out or losing focus due to the NBA’s grueling schedule. The shorter season will also allow me to produce a more consistent, high-quality content that not only covers the game results and box scores, but moreover, provide a thorough insight around the league, and particularly the Mavs. Yes, that means I’ll be writing up articles, from time-to-time, either from scratch or inspired upon. I must say, I definitely learnt a ton about the Dallas franchise and its history whilst researching and writing up these articles - probably a bit too much coming from a Heat fan!
The layout and presentation will be based around the theme of NBA.com(for league-wide news) and Mavs Moneyball(for team-related topics). However, this is subject to change as NBA.com recently changed the design of their website, which in my honest opinion, looks like utter crap from a desktop point-of-view as it's now geared more towards mobile platforms. Basically my end goal is to make the reader feel as if he/she is reading from the actual website. Again, a lot of attention to detail was put into this; from the banner, to the design layout, to as little as the font style, and color schemes.
In terms of gameplay difficulty, it’ll be adjusted accordingly as the season’s progress. My aim is to make it as challenging as ever. In the words of LeBron James, “winning an NBA championship is the hardest thing to do”. So if I’m blowing out top teams or winning back-to-back titles with Dallas from the get-go, then something is not right. Who knows, maybe I don’t win anything at all or even make the playoffs for that matter…
To make things realistic and balanced, the following rules will be applied to the team:
Only one trade during the regular season is permitted, including both User and CPU-initiated.
A maximum of three trades is permitted during the offseason under the following conditions: (1) Only one trade is allowed for User-initiated, (2) one for CPU-initiated, and (3) the remaining to be a small trade, either User or CPU-initiated.
No trades among divisional rivals unless the CPU initiates the offer first. Trades between the Rockets and Spurs are strictly prohibited.
MyLeague Settings Roster: 2K Official (Wednesday, 9 November 2016) Sliders: Hall of Fame Draft Classes:
Season Length: 14 Games Quarter Length: 10 Minutes Normalized Played to Sim Minutes: On Normalized Played to Sim Stats: Off Conference Quarterfinals: 1 Game Conference Semifinals: 1 Game Conference Finals: 1 Game NBA Finals: 1 Game
Anyway, I very much appreciate your time and do hope you enjoy the read (and journey). As always, please feel free to comment your thoughts and feedback, good or bad
Special note:
I just want to give a shout-out to trekfan for his incredible, Sonics dynasty. Many of us have been inspired by his work and have used it as a blueprint for our own dynasties. I’m sure he’ll go one better in his current, St. Louis Story. Also a huge thank you to Cheese2121 for his blessing in allowing me to use some of his coding. It’s been a while since I’ve touched HTML so it was quite refreshing to brush up on those skills again. Basically, anything that looks cool is a direct result of him and his illustrious, Eastern Michigan Football Dynasty – for college football fanatics, I highly recommend that you check it out!
And lastly, much respect and love for the Dynasty HQ community. I thoroughly enjoy following everyone’s dynasty and the path that each entails. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air and adds another dimension to the game that makes it all the more exhilarating!
In 1979, businessman Don Carter and partner Norm Sonju requested the right to bring an NBA franchise to Dallas, Texas. The last professional basketball team in Dallas had been the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association, which moved to San Antonio in 1973 to become the San Antonio Spurs.
At the 1980 NBA All-Star Game, league owners voted to admit the new team, with the team's name coming from the 1957-1962 TV Western Maverick. The name was chosen by fans with 4600 postcards received beating Wranglers and Express. They joined the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, where they would stay until the league went to six divisions for the 2004-05 season. Dick Motta, who coached the Washington Bullets to the NBA Championship in 1977-78, was hired as the team's first head coach.
The Mavericks' made their debut at the start of the 1980-81 NBA season, taking place in the brand-new Reunion Arena, where they faced the San Antonio Spurs. They stunned the Spurs, beating them 103-92, and captured their first ever franchise victory. The Mavericks ended up with a 15-67 record in their inaugural season. Three seasons later, Motta led Dallas to the playoffs for the first time.
In 1996, owner Don Carter was tired of fighting with city officials about building a new arena and decided it was time to trim some of his business interests. Among his streamlining was the sale of a majority interest in the Mavericks for $125 million to an investment group led by H. Ross Perot Jr.
In 1998, recent owner, H. Ross Perot Jr., and the Dallas Stars indicated their desire for a new facility to replace the dated Reunion Arena. Dallas taxpayers approved a new hotel tax and rental car tax to pay for a new facility to cover a portion of the funding, with the two benefitting teams, the Mavericks and the Stars, picking up the remaining costs. On March 18, 1999, American Airlines announced that it would be acquiring the naming rights for the arena for $195 million.
Four years later, on January 14, 2000, Ross Perot's group sold the Dallas Mavericks to Internet entrepreneur and season ticket-holder Mark Cuban for $285 million. Cuban immediately set out to revitalize the Mavericks and increase the team's popularity in Dallas and nationwide.
In 2011, the Mavericks entered the NBA Finals as underdogs due to the Miami Heat's "Big Three" coming together during the course of the season. Dallas captured their first ever NBA title with a 4-2 series win, completely reversing what had happened in the 2006 NBA Finals.
By 2016, according to Forbes, the team is worth an estimated $1.4 billion, ranking #9 on the most valuable franchise in the league, and have the longest sellout streak among the four North America pro sports.
12 Seasons in DAL - Averaged 8.6 points, 5.1 assists in 883 games
Assistant Coach (1992-93 to 1994-95), Player Development Coach (2000-01
to Present), Radio Broadcaster (2007-08 to Present)
Rolando Blackman | G
11 Seasons in DAL - Averaged 19.2 points in 865 games
4x All-Star
Assistant Coach (2000-01), Assistant Coach (2005-06), Director of Basketball
Development (2006-07 to Present)
Dirk Nowitzki | F
19 Seasons in DAL - Averaged 22.0 points in 1,353 games
1x NBA Champion & Finals MVP
1x MVP
13x All-Star
4x 1st Team All-NBA, 5x 2nd Team All-NBA, 3x 3rd Team All-NBA
Basketball Hall of Fame
PLAYERS
Alex English | F
1 Season in DAL - Averaged 9.7 points in 79 games
Inducted in 1997
Adrian Dantley | F/G
2 Seasons in DAL - Averaged 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds in 76 games
Inducted in 2008
Dennis Rodman | F
1 Season in DAL - Averaged 2.8 points, 14.3 rebounds in 12 games
Inducted in 2011
Dirk Nowitzki | F
19 Seasons in DAL - Averaged 22.0 points, 7.9 rebounds in 1,353 games
Inducted in 2017
Chris Bosh | F
1 Season in DAL - Averaged 5.6 points in 14 games
Inducted in 2020
Marc Gasol | C
1 Season in DAL - Averaged 10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds in 14 games
Inducted in 2024
Derrick Rose | G
1 Season in DAL - Averaged 3.9 points in 7 games
Inducted in 2025
COACHES
Don Nelson
Head Coach (1997-98 to 2004-05), General Manager (1997-98 to 2004-05)
Inducted in 2012
List of Head Coaches
#
Name
Term
GC
W
L
%
GC
W
L
%
Achievements
Regular Season
Playoffs
1
Dick Motta
1980-1987
574
267
307
.465
28
11
17
.393
2
John MacLeod
1987-1989
175
96
79
.549
17
10
7
.588
3
Richie Adubato
1989-1992
264
94
170
.356
3
0
3
.000
4
Gar Heard
1992-1993
53
9
44
.170
-
-
-
-
5
Quinn Buckner
1993-1994
82
13
69
.159
-
-
-
-
-
Dick Motta
1994-1996
164
62
102
.378
-
-
-
-
6
Jim Cleamons
1996-1997
98
28
70
.286
-
-
-
-
7
Don Nelson
1997-2005
590
339
251
.575
43
19
24
.442
Basketball Hall of Fame (2012)
8
Avery Johnson
2005-2008
264
194
70
.735
47
23
24
.489
NBA Coach of the Year (2006)
Western Conference Championship (2006)
9
Rick Carlisle
2008-Present
780
470
310
.603
76
46
30
.605
NBA Coach of the Year (2023)
Western Conference Championship (2011, 2021, 2023, 2025, 2026)
NBA Championship (2011, 2021, 2023, 2025, 2026)
The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Sitting with the fans while dressed like one, egging the opposing teams and screaming at the refs, Mark Cuban is easily the most charismatic individual of the organization. Online and off, Cuban is an unfiltered force of opinion and a bombastic personality among the rather stodgy inner circle of NBA ownership. No stranger to controversy, he has accumulated close to $2 million of fines from the league for various outbursts spanning over 16 years. Although Cuban may seem irresponsible at times, he actually does something rather impressive each time he is fined. According to him, he matches each fine he receives from the NBA with a donation to a charity of his choosing.
BASKETBALL OPERATIONS
Donnie Nelson
PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS/GENERAL MANAGER
The son of Basketball Hall of Famer, Don Nelson, Donnie joined the Mavericks as an assistant GM in 1998. Since then, he has been instrumental in rebuilding a team that suffered a decade-long playoff drought into a perennial playoff team and championship contender. In a 2007 Sports Illustrated article ranking the NBA's personnel bosses from 1 to 30, Donnie was ranked No. 2 overall. Additionally, in a 2009 Yahoo! Sports article, Donnie was ranked the 3rd best General Manager of the decade after producing nine 50-plus win seasons in a row and the first Finals appearance in franchise history in 2006. Donnie assembled the Mavericks team that would later win the 2011 NBA Championship.
Oliver Saunders
ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER
Replacing former Assistant GM, Eli Best, Oliver joined the Mavericks in the summer of 2017. He previously worked as an international head scout in the D-League for six years.
Rick Carlisle
HEAD COACH
Rick Carlisle became the ninth coach in franchise history on May 9, 2008. He joined the Mavericks after spending six seasons, with Detroit and Indiana, as a head coach. Carlisle led his team to the playoffs nine times in his first ten seasons as a head coach. He guided the Mavericks to their first-ever World championship in 2011, becoming one of only 11 individuals to win an NBA championship as both a player and as a head coach (he won a title as a player with Boston in 1986).
Dirk Nowitzki
ASSISTANT COACH
Nowitzki joined the coaching staff in 2018 after spending his entire career playing for the Mavs. Nowitzki is Dallas' all-time leading scorer and arguably their greatest player ever.
William Peterson
SCOUTING DIRECTOR
With a promotion in 2016, William Peterson overtook the role as Scouting Director of the Mavericks. Prior to the role, Peterson was a scout for the Mavericks since 2002, spending half his time over in Europe.
Bradley Jones
HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER
Bradley Jones joined the Mavericks in 2016 after spending the past five years as an assistant trainer for the Dallas Cowboys. Jones graduated from the University of Virginia.
vtcha
ADVISOR
Going by a pseudonym, vtcha joined the Dallas Mavericks as a special advisor on August 21, 2016. In this role, vtcha primarily assists with the basketball operations, ranging from propositions and second opinions, to providing consultations. He reports directly to owner Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson, and often travels to Dallas whilst maintaining his Sydney-based residence.
FINANCE
Jason Taylor
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Joined in 2016, Jason Taylor brings his extensive experience and expertise to the Mavericks overseeing financial aspects of the organisation, including the responsibility and management of financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management. Taylor has been in the industry for over 30 years, working for various banking corporations within Austin.
The 2015-16 NBA season was the 36th season for the Dallas Mavericks franchise.
Before the season even began, concerns were raised after Dallas got off to a slow start, losing all seven games in the preseason. However they were able to get their first win in the season opener at the US Airways Center, defeating the Phoenix Suns 111-95.
During the early parts of the season, the Mavericks battled through several injuries from their key players. The Mavs, whom had recently signed Wesley Matthews to a 4yr, $70 million deal, was coming off a torn ACL suffered from the previous season. Likewise, Chandler Parsons had undergone off-season knee surgery and was constantly in and out of the lineup.
On December 23, 2015, Dirk Nowitzki passed Shaquille O'Neal on the all-time scoring list, placing him into sixth place with 28,597 points.
At the All-Star break, Dallas posted a respectable 29-26 record (6th in the West). Although nobody in the team was selected as an All-Star, one of the more pleasant surprises was the productivity of veteran big man, Zaza Pachulia. The Mavericks acquired him from the Bucks during the off-season and it payed dividends as Pachulia averaged an unlikely double-double (10.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG) at the break.
During the second half of the season, the Mavs were mediocre at best. The early season resurgence for Pachulia began to wore off as he declined rapidly, finishing with averages of 5.8 PPG and 7.0 RPG after the break. The Mavs were also dealt a huge blow, losing Chandler Parsons after undergoing season-ending knee surgery. To make matters worse, point guard Deron Williams would also miss some time as a result of an abdominal strain. With the Mavericks shorthanded, sixth man J.J. Barea stepped up and led the team to a 6-game winning streak as the playoffs drew near. For his efforts, Barea was named Player of the Week for games from March 28 through April 3 - the first for the franchise since Monta Ellis back in 2014. The team was a perfect 4-0 during the span where Barea averaged an incredible 23.5 PPG and 6.8 APG while shooting 52.1% from the field.
Dallas wrapped up the season with an overall record of 42-40 (6th in the West). They would eventually face the third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a first-round series match-up.
Despite being completely dominated in Game 1 losing by 38 points, the Mavericks pulled off an upset away win in Game 2, defeating OKC 85-84. However, the victory would be short-lived as the Thunder would soon prove to be too much, winning the next three games and clinching the series 4-1.
As a result of the Rajon Rondo trade made back in 2014, the Mavericks did not own a first round pick which would have resulted in the 16th overall pick. Instead, the Boston Celtics owned the rights to the pick and used the selection on French forward, Guerschon Yabusele. In the second round of the draft, Dallas used their 46th pick overall to select A.J. Hammons from Purdue University. The pick made total sense for a Dallas team that severely lacked rim protection last season where they ranked 29th in the league in blocks.
Transactions
TRADES
July 7, 2016
To Dallas Mavericks
To Golden State Warriors
Andrew Bogut
Dallas' 2019 second-round draft pick
Golden State's 2019 second-round draft pick
July 7, 2016
To Dallas Mavericks
To Indiana Pacers
Draft rights to Stanko Barać
Jeremy Evans
Draft rights to Emir Preldžić
FREE AGENTS
RE-SIGNED
Dwight Powell
Re-signed on July 8, 2016
4-yr, $37 million
Deron Williams
Re-signed on July 8, 2016
1-yr, $10 million
Dirk Nowitzki
Re-signed on July 27, 2016
2-yr, $50 million
IN
Harrison Barnes
Signed offer sheet on July 7, 2016
4-yr, $94 million
Seth Curry
Signed on July 15, 2016
2-yr, $6 million
Jonathan Gibson
Undrafted in 2010
Signed on July 15, 2016
3-yr, $2.5 million
Quincy Acy
Signed on July 20, 2016
2-yr, $2.2 million
OUT
Chandler Parsons
Signed with Memphis Grizzlies on July 7, 2016
4-yr, $94 million
Zaza Pachulia
Signed with Golden State Warriors on July 12, 2016
10-16-2016, 05:19 AM
