Mark Aguirre finally gets his jersey retired

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Mark Aguirre to the Detroit Pistons for Adrian Dantley and a first-round draft pick in 1991, the move was widely viewed as a sigh of relief for the franchise.

Aguirre left Dallas as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, but his moody disposition had worn thin on then-coach John MacLeod. The two clashed repeatedly during Aguirre’s tenure, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Mark’s attitude made it difficult for the team,” MacLeod said at the time. “It was a big problem.”

More than 30 years after becoming estranged from the organization, Aguirre returned to the American Airlines Center on Thursday night to see his jersey retired.

Among those in attendance were Mavericks legends Dirk Nowitzki, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper and Shawn Marion, along with Aguirre’s former Detroit Pistons teammate and childhood friend, Isiah Thomas. Aguirre and Thomas shared an emotional moment, thanking one another and reminiscing about their long friendship.

“I’m excited, I’m going to join Isiah,” Aguirre told the Associated Press in 1989. “We’ve dreamed of being on the same team since we were in grade school.”

Thomas delivered a speech lasting more than two minutes during the ceremony.

“If Mark Aguirre doesn’t come to the Detroit Pistons,” Thomas said, “we never become world champions.”

As Aguirre’s jersey was raised to the rafters, he wiped away tears. Still, the former Mavericks guard remained in his suite, watching the game that followed.

He watched Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg score a career-high 49 points in a 123-121 loss to the Hornets on Thursday.

Flagg made a 3-pointer with 33.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 121. But, on the Mavs next offensive possession, Flagg turned the ball over and fouled Hornets guard Kon Knueppel on the defensive end. Knueppel made both free throws clinching the victory for the Hornets.