In the 1990s, the Dallas Mavericks' ineptitude on the basketball court made them the NBA's laughingstock.

If Mark Cuban, the driving force behind the Jason Kidd trade, can't figure out a way to get the deal done before the trading deadline in five days, the Mavs will once again be the league's laughingstock.

This time, though, it will be for its front office's ineptitude.

Considering Memphis gave away Pau Gasol, its only All-Star, for a pair of Air Jordans and a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and Donald Sterling still owns the Los Angeles Clippers, it's extremely difficult for another franchise to become the league's punch line.

Somehow, the Mavs will have managed to do it.

Ridiculous.

Actually, it would be kind of sad for a franchise that has been a model in virtually every way since Cuban bought it in January 2000. But the embarrassment of failing to salvage this seven-player deal because Devean George vetoed it or Jerry Stackhouse's comments about rejoining the Mavs after the Nets would've bought out his contract will last a lifetime.

Seriously.

And, please, no more rhetoric from Cuban about how everyone but him thought the deal was done. Like everyone else, he figured it was a done deal.

Just don't waste a bunch of time and energy blaming George if the deal doesn't get completed. He didn't botch it. That credit goes to Cuban.

The first thing you do when a player — even a marginal player like George — has the right to veto a trade, no matter how he obtained it, is ask him or his agent whether he's willing to be dealt.

Cuban had to make sure he knew the answer to that question before he made the first phone call to New Jersey president

Rod Thorn.

It's just not that complicated.

And it doesn't matter what George said a couple of weeks ago about wanting to be traded because he wasn't getting consistent playing time. We all know players are pampered and emotional.

They change their minds daily. The Mavs had to make sure George and his agent wanted to be dealt because they were about to make it a reality.

Professional sports franchises are like any other multimillion dollar corporation. They wield nearly all of the power in the relationship. It's never personal; it's always about business.

Players get traded all the time because it's in the franchise's best interest. I have no problem with that because players get paid handsomely for that inconvenience. That said, I have no problem with George exercising his right to nix the trade.

Now, I would like to hear the real reason — not the poppycock his agent wants us to believe. Clearly, George doesn't want to play for New Jersey, no matter what his agent says.

Yes, George will have to give up his Early Bird or Larry Bird rights if he's traded, but that doesn't really mean much because there's no way the Mavs are going to re-sign him at the end of the season or sign him to a lucrative deal as part of a sign-and-trade. If George simply changed his mind about being traded, then he needs to say it.

Then there's the Stackhouse element.

Stackhouse essentially told the world that he expected to re-sign with the Mavericks after 30 days.

That, my friends, certainly sounds like a clear attempt to circumvent the rules the NBA implemented in 2005 to prevent things like this from occurring after Gary Payton re-signed with Boston three days after being traded to Atlanta. If you don't think the general managers in Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Antonio and Phoenix have already raised a colossal stink about this, then you underestimate their desire to win a championship.

If Kidd doesn't arrive, you can write this season off.

That's because Devin Harris will know for sure Avery Johnson doesn't believe in him. DeSagana Diop will know for sure he's not part of the Mavericks' future. And George will feel the wrath of angry fans — and perhaps angry teammates — who blame him for killing the trade.

The Mavs will have no chemistry.

We know this team has a fragile psyche, the result of colossal playoff collapses the last two years. There's no way it can handle the adversity that will follow if this trade doesn't get done.