Today is the one-month anniversary of the Mavericks 2011 championship, and we caught up with our friend Jaime Aron, the longtime Mavericks beat-writer who recently updated his book Tales From the Dallas Mavericks Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Mavs Stories Ever Told, a book that details the 30-year history of the franchise. Jaime chatted with us about his experiences covering the Mavericks as well as a variety of other topics including Mark Cuban, Jason Kidd, the Dallas Cowboys, Dirk‘s love life, the future of the Mavs, and even Chris Gatling.
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Dime: What were some of the most memorable moments of the championship celebration? Who was it particularly special for?
Jaime Aron: In Dallas, the ovation that Cuban got, and how genuinely dumbstruck he was – he couldn’t speak – he tried to talk and he couldn’t – that just kind of made the applause go even louder. Rick Carlisle kind of diffused the moment and made a very eloquent little speech. What he said to us was something reporters had told us a few days before: He said there is a difference between success and fulfillment.
Earlier in the week he had been talking about J-Kidd and Dirk, guys who had by any stretch of the imagination had successful careers, but winning a championship was fulfillment. That’s really what Cuban was thinking so that kind of broke the ice and allowed Mark to speak. It’s one of those things that, say, the Mavericks go on to win 10 more championships, there’s nothing like the first. That’s what I think made this championship so powerful for so many people. Going back to being in Miami that night that they won it all, the cool factor began even before the game began—seeing all the longtime fans and employees of the organization who, on their own dime, had flown to Miami because they wanted to be there that night. That was really cool. As the stands were filling up, you saw a lot of the blue t-shirts that Mavs fans had been wearing in the playoffs, and then as the Mavs were taking control of the game, boy they got loud. Maybe that says more about the Miami fans (laughs) that they allowed those guys to count them out.
Dime: Talk a little more about your history with the Mavericks.
JA: Mavericks fans and Dallas sports fans are not the most loyal bunch. It’s a very social – see and be seen type of thing – but these were people who were truly passionate about the Mavericks. I moved to Dallas in 1992, which was really the start of the awful era of the Mavericks, and it coincided with the start of the great era of the Cowboys. I was constantly amazed that whenever there was any sign of hope for the Mavs, the city really responded to them. People really cared about the Mavericks, they totally wanted the Mavericks to succeed. People totally bought into the “Three J’s” (Jason Kidd, Jimmy Jackson and Jamal Mashburn) When they broke those guys up, whatever faint hope there was – whether it was the hiring of Quinn Buckner, no matter how much a disaster that was, or the hiring of Jim Cleamons (who was Phil Jackson‘s right-hand man) or bringing in Nellie. It didn’t matter what it was, people came out to see it and people were really stoked about it, this is when the Mavericks were going to turn it around, and that always really struck me.
Dime: Jason Kidd. You’ve seen him now in two different eras of Mavericks history. What changed from Kidd’s first stint in Dallas to his second?
JA: Well I’ll pose the question back to you, I don’t know how old you are but I know that I’m a lot different than I was when I was 23 and when I was 38 (laughs.) I think with him it really is a classic case of a guy who has made up for his physical deficiencies with his savvy. I count myself as the average basketball fan who doesn’t really appreciate ALL the little things that he does. I mean in moments of truth, all the guys I talk to say J-Kidd does all the little things that drive them, that fire them up…that he says the right things in the huddle and takes over at certain moments. As much as Dirk and Terry are the closers from a scoring perspective, I think Kidd really takes over the leadership when it’s needed. I really don’t appreciate all the little things that he does, but everyone raves about it. Not just when the cameras are on or the microphones are in his face, he’s really the backbone of the team, and that certainly wasn’t the case before. What went wrong before was that it was a power-shift struggle. He wanted to be in control – not because he knew what to do in control – just because he thought that was the thing to do.
Dime: And being from the New York area, we got a chance to watch a lot of Kidd playing for the Nets. How was his era with the Nets different than this current one?
JA: The thing about the New Jersey Jason Kidd is that he was in the prime of his career. He could score a lot. His team needed him to score. Kind of like Dirk now, just by his mere stature, he was supposed to be the leader. But now at 38 years old, he’s not necessarily supposed to be that guy anymore. Yet, that’s what’s so impressive, was that he was. The only older starter on a championship team was Kareem, and I’m not even so sure he was the leader of his team. I think that lack of a championship has driven Kidd. It’s what’s kept him going and kept him hungry. I write about the Cowboys a lot, and I’ve also written a book about their first championship, and how long it took them to get over the hurdle after a lot of near misses. And what kept them at a high level, was the lack of that first championship. I think it’s the same thing with these Mavericks. I think the Mavericks would have blown it up and started over, if they hadn’t just remained a perennial 50-win contender with this uncrowned superstar, in Dirk.
Dime: What has it been like covering Mark Cuban for the past few years? Do you think he’s responsible for putting the team where it is today? Do you agree with his decisions to spend as much as possible to win?
JA: One thing I’ve always said is that you have to love his passion to win and how he’s channeled it, how he’s used it. People always want to lump him in with George Steinbrenner or Jerry Jones, and there are a lot similarities, but he really doesn’t go out and say, “Go out and get this guy, or get that guy.” He really wants to make sure that it makes business sense. He understands enough about basketball to know which guys they should or shouldn’t get. He puts money into the analytic side. He’s talked about the formula they have for what players are the most underappreciated on other teams.
Part of the reason the team hired Rick Carlisle as coach is that Cuban had done a study of how players perform under each coach, in various situations, and they saw that when players came to Rick, their performance increased, and when they left, that performance decreased. So he was able to maximize his players’ potential. I’m not saying that Mark necessarily came up with those analytics, but he hired the people to come up with that sort of thing. He invests in all of that. So it’s not like he just goes and says, “Wow I saw Rudy Fernandez jump out of the gym in warm-ups, so I think we should go get him.” The thing that he did from day one was that he wanted to make the Mavericks important again; he definitely did that in a grand way, but then I think he became sort of addicted to the spotlight. Although that was kind of part of his business model—turning himself into a brand. I mean look at him now. I think he’s on his third reality show. Maybe that was part of the plan all along.
Dime: What has been the most noticeable change in the fan support of the Mavericks? They were kind of one of the doormats of the NBA through the 90’s, but got popular with Finley, Nowitzki, and Nash? Did fans appreciate that era more or the current championship team?
JA: Well like I said, the fans always felt every little bit of hope. I remember when they signed Chris Gatling (who was later traded to the Nets) and he was hailed at the time as the biggest free-agent signing. You know, people got excited about him. It just shows that they never lost faith in this team.
A good comparison might be the Atlanta Braves. A team that’s perennial successful but couldn’t even sell out playoff games. Every year fans were thinking and hoping this could be the year. But with the Mavs, in the last two or three years, it became, like, enough already. We’re tired of this. You need to win us over. And that happened, though, when the Mavericks came back from L.A. with a 2-0 lead. It was hook, line and sinker. That’s when the fans decided that this could be a special team and this could be the year.
Dime: Talk about the parade and Dirk’s welcome home party in Germany? Did you think it was a bit over the top?
JA: No, I thought it was great. It was very well done. If you remember the moment when the team went on that balcony and sang we are the champions – that was relatively unplanned. I talked to some of the organizers who said there had been talk of maybe doing something like that, but they just went and did it. This was the first time and the fact that Mark picked up the tab was great too. There was also a bit of an irony or a satisfaction to it all when you consider what happened in 2006, when the Mavericks went up 2-0 and began planning the parade. The one thing about the Dirk in Germany thing, was that he didn’t take the trophy! So not that it really matters, but the Larry O’Brien Trophy is nothing like the Stanley Cup, but I think it would have been cool if, you know, J.J. Barea went to home Puerto Rico and had the trophy with him or Dirk brought it to Germany. I guess Mark just didn’t want to let it go!
Dime: What was special about covering this Mavericks team?
JA: I think it was the calm of the team. Really there wasn’t any turnover. For so many years, they’ve always made deadline trades or a big addition. This year the additions were Peja and Brewer (and Brewer really had minimal impact.) Other than Tyson, most of the guys were in place last year. The only real big issue they faced was Haywood having to accept the fact that he didn’t sign to be a starter, got starter money, and was a back-up. Late last season there was a night where he was benched and I think Damp started in his place. He was asked about not starting and he had this pouty answer of “I just work here.” And so here was a guy that they wooed, whispered sweet-nothings to get him back, and did whatever they could to welcome him back…then boom they bring in Tyson Chandler to start. So Haywood got suspended for a game – a game in San Antonio – which was basically a “go get your head straight.” It was like sending home a little kid. To his credit though, he accepted his role and he made it work.
Dime: How bright is the future for these guys? Assuming they can bring back the necessary pieces like Chandler and Barea, do you see these Mavericks getting back to the Finals?
JA: You know the theory is that the lockout – any shrinkage of the season – would benefit them because they’re an older team, and having fewer regular season games, they could still be strong in the playoffs. I think you have to figure the window’s open for at least one more year, but after that, it remains to be seen how the league changes with the huge crop of free agents.
Look at what the Heat did in their first year of these three guys being together. I’m a firm believer that this was the worst Heat team we will see for the next five years. Unless whatever new labor agreement there is forces them to get rid of Bosh or alter the Big Three, you have to figure they’re going to improve the supporting cast year after year and figure out that cohesiveness. But then you know if Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are able to hook-up, or Deron Williams and somebody, it remains to be seen whether the Mavericks can find a way to get a Paul or Williams to take the baton from Jason Kidd. Then, you know, Dirk’s window stays open even longer.
Everybody in Dallas always talks about how Dirk’s game is based on skill – it’s not based on athleticism. Those are things that he’s going to have at 37 or 38, that he has now at 33. With his dedication and work ethic, his game is not likely to erode and I don’t see Dirk’s game slipping at all. I remember talking to Holger [Geshwindner, Dirk’s trainer] about whether he could see Dirk’s maniacal approach to training drop off, and he said the only thing that could change him is women. If he got married, had kids, maybe other things would take priority in his life. Now that he has a championship, even Dirk has said that he questions whether that commitment will still be there. Whether he will still have that fire to, let’s say, be at the gym at 10:30 on a weeknight in October, remains to be seen.
Jaime Aron has been the Texas sports editor for the Associated Press since 1999. Aron has covered practically every major sporting event and was named AP Sports Writer of the Year for 2001.
There is a free copy of his book, Tales from the Dallas Mavericks Locker Room, available in the Dime Office. If you want it, let us know why in the comments.
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