The Mavericks almost had an elite duo of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki
Cuban has said before that he thought he had a deal in place to acquire Bryant in 2007, but on a recent podcast appearance with"Do you realize how close we were to trading for Kobe in 2007?" Cuban asked O'Neal. "I was literally this close. I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out with Jerry because Kobe had asked to leave. Jerry said, 'Ok if you want to leave, we'll take care of it.
Dallas' offer wasn't terrible either, depending on the picks offered in the trade. Josh Howard had just made his first All-Star game appearance at 26 years old, and Jason Terry was a good scorer for the Mavs and would blossom into one of the league's premier sixth men over the next few seasons. Instead, the Lakers held onto Bryant, acquired Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza, and would play in three straight NBA Finals, winning it all in 2009 and 2010. The Mavericks struggled in the playoffs for the next few seasons before eventually sending Howard, Drew Gooden, and a few other players to the Washington Wizards for Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, and Brendan Haywood, all crucial pieces to the 2011 championship team.
Howard was never the same player after his 2007 All-Star appearance, battling injuries before bowing out of the league in 2013. He was arguably a better player in the 2007-08 season but would never play more than 52 games in a season after that. Having Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant on the same team, who always had mutual respect for each other, would've been must-see TV, but Dirk's first championship may not have hit the same as it did. Going through Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kobe, Pau, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James in that run is one of the best in NBA history and cemented his legacy.
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