The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat were two dominant and proud franchises that tangled in the 2011 NBA Finals.
Now, both those teams are the subject of NBA tanking rumors. The Dallas Mavericks were crushed by its failure to acquire their target free agents and the Miami Heat crumbled as soon as LeBron James packed his bags to return to Cleveland.
The state of the two franchises is at its lowest point. The Dallas Mavericks are dead last in the NBA standings at 2-12 record while the Miami Heat is slightly ahead at 4-10.
The Mavericks may be ripe for tanking according to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer and he even implied that trading away Andrew Bogut is on the table.
In O'Connor's piece, he stated that tanking could be in play for the Mavericks if Dirk gets injured (and he has). When that happens, "there would be 'plenty' of interest in center Andrew Bogut. Though Bogut turns 33 this season, he's still an elite rim protector and rebounder who would boost a team's playoff chances. If the Mavericks were able to acquire valuable assets for a pending free agent in Bogut, and then hit it big in the draft, they would have a nice blend of talent moving forward."
The Miami Heat might also be pushed to the same boat. Despite Pat Riley's pride, it's clear that they would rather look towards the future especially after the Chris Bosh situation. O'Connor called the remainder of the Heat core as "uninspiring" since Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and even Hassan Whiteside are a far cry from their Big Three who were just three seasons removed from now.
Will the two teams take interest in projected first overall draft pick Markelle Fultz, currently with Washington? Adam Zagoria of SNY has declared that Fultz is now the projected top overall pick. The 6'5 combo guard has been compared to James Harden-a shooting guard turned playmaker.
Fultz could slide in Dwyane Wade's position in Miami or take over as the lead point guard of the Mavericks, but O'Connor notes that both Mark Cuban and Pat Riley are impatient at rebuilding. They are likely to use the top draft pick as leverage for a trade deal that could score them a veteran.
Here are highlights from Markelle Fultz FIBA U18 stint where he took home MVP honors along with championship for Team USA.