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The problem with Mavs fans deriving any kind of solace from that is that the Mavericks have been (or at least have appeared to be) among those top five or six or close to it for several seasons.

Obviously, right now they don't belong in that group. Not top 10, either. New coach Rick Carlisle is just hoping to find something that gets his team into the top eight in the Western Conference.

But it's the overall play against the Lakers that compels the Mavericks to try to make it work with this group of players or something close to this group. Those who look at the 2-5 record and say "blow it up" and hope to get 50 cents on the dollar for any and all tradable players are supporting a cause that's unworkable for two reasons.

One is that in order to "blow it up," a franchise has to be in position to take advantage of becoming a bad team. The worst part of the Kidd trade is still to come. Dallas does not have a first-round pick in 2010, so the Mavericks can't afford to put a lousy team on the floor next season.

Second is that "blowing it up" seldom works in the NBA. Teams that become bad tend to stay bad for a long time. There is no rule that says once you reach a certain level of mediocrity, other bad teams are forced to give you Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

If you really think "blowing it up" is better than seeing what this team can get from Kidd before his contract expires, try to recall the 1990s when the Mavericks had a nine-year stretch in which their win totals were 28, 22, 11, 13, 36, 26, 24, 20 and 19.

That was a team that got blown up over time by the departures (for various reasons) of Mark Aguirre, Sam Perkins, Rolando Blackman, Roy Tarpley and, finally, Derek Harper.

Unless you want to relive the '90s, the only course is to plow ahead and hope this team learns to finish games when it plays with the energy it displayed Tuesday night.

It may not turn out pretty. But it's guaranteed not to be as ugly as "blowing it up."

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