Cuban repents: Letting Nash go, the Mavericks

On August 31, former Mavericks boss Cuban revealed his voice in a podcast program, saying that letting Nash go was the biggest mistake in his career, and this topic instantly attracted widespread attention from the basketball community.

Cuban recalled the scene and was filled with emotion: "That season, Nash averaged about 29 minutes per game, and the doctor pointed out that he had many problems with orthopedics. We provided him with a quote that he thought was good, which I still remember freshly. Even the schedule of communication records with Nash at that time was still there. Nash later called me and told me: 'Hey, the Suns gave me a salary of the same level as Mike-Beeby.'"

In the NBA environment at that time, the salary cap was quite different from today, and each team was walking on thin ice in terms of contract distribution. Although Nash is already the league's top point guard, Cuban weighed it over and over again and finally chose to prioritize the team's salary flexibility, but did not match the generous offer offered by the Suns. This decision became a pain that he couldn't let go of.

Cuban further explained: "The offer we gave was about $13 million, and the salary at Mike Bibby level was about $16 million. I clearly told Nash that this was the limit we could give. We were eager for him to return, but the salary structure must fit the salary cap. The salary cap was on a downward trend in those years, not continuing to rise, which made the team difficult to increase salary."

However, what made Cuban regret was that after Nash switched to the Suns, his strength exploded and he won the regular season MVP in a row. During that time with the Suns, Nash averaged 17.2 points, 11.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, shooting 50.8% from the field. Although he failed to help the Suns win the championship trophy, he led the team to achieve great results in the playoffs many times, establishing himself as "one of the greatest point guards in NBA history" with his outstanding performance. The decision of Cuban to let Nash not only made the Mavericks miss a legendary point guard, but also made the team lose many possibilities in their subsequent development. This mistake was like a deep mark, remaining in Cuban's career. It also sounded a wake-up call for many team managers, and we need to be very cautious in the trade-offs between salary and stars. The basketball world is full of variables, and a seemingly inconspicuous decision may change the fate of a team.

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