The worst thing that ever happened to the Mavericks

Vince Young had no choice. The Texas quarterback had to turn pro when he did, after his junior year. He had just come off the greatest performance ever by a collegiate football player in single-handedly willing his team to the National Championship in a stunning Rose Bowl upset of mighty reigning champions Southern California, the same USC team that had mauled Oklahoma 55-19, in a game that wasn't even as close as that score suggests, the year before. The only real difference between the USC team Texas played and the one that crushed OU was that the 2005 squad had one more year of experience.

As spectacular as Young's performance was in that game, it would then be set as the standard for Young to measure against the following season. It's unfair, but that's the reality. I doubt if I'll ever see another performance to equal that one. I know I've never seen one in my lifetime of watching college football games. I'm not going to tell you how long that lifetime has been, but I will say, in the very first college football game I saw in person, Rice quarterback King Hill threw a touchdown pass to end Buddy Dial to hand the Bear Bryant-coached Texas Aggies their only loss of that season. (Look it up.)

Young would never have a game to equal the one he played the evening of Jan. 4, 2006. But that's what he would be measured against and when he failed to achieve that level the questions would arise "What's wrong with Vince Young? Why has he gone downhill?"

I bring all this up because the Dallas Mavericks are facing a similar problem. Two years ago they were up two games to nil in the NBA finals and leading going into the fourth quarter of game No. 3. But, of course, they lost that one, the next three and the title. To this day there are those (Maverick owner Mark Cuban leads this cabal) who claims the title was stolen from the Mavericks through some conspiracy.

The fact that the Mavericks made the finals that year was a fluke. In fact, I want to thank Morning News Mavericks columnist David Moore for reminding me that the Mavericks got to the title series by beating a Phoenix Suns team that was playing without Amare Stoudemire.

Unfortunately, being in the NBA finals, a place this Mavericks team doesn't belong, is now held as the standard, much the same way as Vince Young's Rose Bowl performance would have been held up as the standard for him. And the fact that Avery Johnson was coaching that team two years ago (never mind he inherited it three quarters of the way through the season) was held as the standard for him.

Don't worry. I'm not going to be arguing that Avery was unfairly dismissed. Far from it. I've been questioning Avery as head coach since he lost to that inferior Miami team just because he couldn't or wouldn't alter his defensive system to find a way to make the game tougher for Dwayne Wade.

What I'm concerned about is all this talk about what changes the Mavericks must make during this offseason to win a championship. Well, there's a very simple answer to that. All the Mavericks have to do is switch rosters with the Boston Celtics, and even that wouldn't be a guarantee. It's also not going to happen, of course, so get over it.

This Mavericks team is not going to compete for a Western Conference championship, let alone an NBA title. In fact, I can't see how a Mavericks team in the next five years, at least, will be able to compete. They simply don't have the personnel and there is no way they are going to be able to get that personnel, especially since they are so far over the salary cap they can't even compete on the free agent market.

To expect the Mavericks to reach that level -- back into the NBA title picture -- is expecting too much. But here's what I would like the Mavericks to strive for:

1. Be competitive. Be a team that rarely, if ever, gets blown out of a game, a team that every other team in the NBA is concerned about defeating, a team that protects its home court and wins at least a third of its road games.

2. A team that consistently makes the playoffs. All that means is that the Mavs are among the eight best teams in the Western Conference and that doesn't seem to be too much to ask. I would also like them to win at least their first playoff series each year and, if they don't, at least take it to seven games. But never, ever, lose to a lower-seeded team, unless it's a close 4-5 seed matchup.

3. Be entertaining. This, to me, is the most important element of all. My one overriding problem with Avery Johnson, the main reason I'm glad he's gone, was he had made the Mavericks a comparatively dull team to watch. There was no fire to the team. There was no spunk. But, above all, there was no excitement, no flamboyancy, nothing that consistently got the fans at the AAC to leap out of their seats. Say what you want about Mike D'Antoni, that his style of basketball doesn't produce championships, but, man, those Phoenix Suns teams are fun to watch and they are always competitive.

Those are the three things I want the Mavericks to strive for in the immediate future. An NBA championship is unrealistic. The next time, if that time ever comes, a Mavericks team plays for a title I absolutely guarantee you that not one member of the current team will be on that title-contending roster.

But at least we can have some fun and watch some exciting basketball in the meantime.