This is really my outlook on it. And most every situation he'd feasibly want to be in outside Dallas requires a S&T to get him there.
And that Lakers deal necessitates them dumping EVERYONE that isn't AD/Bron unless it's a sign and trade situation... They're not doing that. And guys aren't leaving that kind of money on the table at 31 - let alone when they lost a massive shoe contract just months prior.
If you're going to argue anything about how the Mavs landed here and how Cuban's gone about roster building, it's the fact they've spent so much time sitting in the middle playing with chalk in the margins trying to position for a second star.
Now they've got two - and the route for success around them seems fairly obvious - but we'll see if they can get it done with what they have at their disposal.