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After stringing together a few wins after the Dallas Mavericks stumbled to a 1-4 start following an embarrassing 15-love skunking to end their New Year's Day loss at Minnesota, Jason Terry had this to say:

"The loss to Minnesota was our wake-up call. Any time you lose to that ballclub it's not a good thing, not when you're a championship team."

And who could really blame him? That Minnesota win halted a nine-game losing streak to the Mavs, who had won 18 of the previous 19 meetings.

And then three weeks later those Wolves did it again, only in Dallas, thumping the Mavs by 15 points to spoil their championship ring celebration. A three-game win streak followed for the Mavs, but there were no proclamations about how losing to a perennial doormat served as another wake-up call.

Well, here we go again with a third and final meeting of the regular season between these two clubs, and Dallas is fully aware that these Wolves are young and hungry and pretty darn good. In fact, this one in Minnesota -- 13-10 since an 0-3 start -- is a pretty important one for both squads.

Dallas just snapped a three-game skid at Denver and must play Portland on Saturday and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and Denver again on Wednesday. Minnesota is at .500 for a second time and would close to within one game of Dallas in the standings as it fights to remain a legitimate playoff contender heading to the halfway point of the season.

It should be fun.

Records: Mavs (15-11); Timberwolves (13-13)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Target Center

TV: FSSW

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: J.J. Barea wasn't healthy with a bum hamstring the first time the Mavs played up north on New Year's Day, but he have it a go and scored eight points in 17 minutes. The hamstring (and ankle issues) kept Barea out of the Jan. 25 game at Dallas when he picked up his championship ring and then took a seat on the bench in a suit. Now, the diminutive guard is raring to go against his old mates in an important game for both teams. He's been back for five games and is coming off his best game of the season Wednesday night at Memphis with 17 points -- 6-of-8 from the free throw line -- and six assists in 23 minutes. Barea will be looking to remind his former team how to break down a defense.

Key matchup: Nikola Pekovic vs. Brendan Haywood/Ian Mahinmi/Brandan Wright
Surprised? Yeah, well Pekovic has been just that of late. Consider that in the first matchup on Jan. 1, he didn't get off the bench. In the second meeting, he had 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line, plus six rebounds. In his last five games, the 6-foot-11, 290-pounder from Montenegro has scored in double figures in each, has two 20-plus scoring games and three double-doubles while averaging 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds. In a nutshell, the three-headed monster Rick Carlisle talked about at the center position has to enforce the middle and can't let Pekovic join the double-double lineup with All-Star Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

Injuries: Mavs -- G Jason Kidd (right calf strain) is questionable. Timberwolves -- C Darko Milicic (sprained right ankle) is questionable.

Up next: Portland Trail Blazers at Mavs, 7:30 p.m., Saturday

For about $2 million, the Dallas Mavericks have turned a key area of concern into an apparent strength. When J.J. Barea was offered nothing more than a one-year deal to return, sealing his fate to leave, the point guard position was suddenly down to a 38-year-old legend coming off his first championship followed by a string of question marks.

PODCAST
Bob Ortegel joins Galloway & Company to hand out grades for the Mavs after a third of the season has been played. Listen

Rodrigue Beaubois was coming back, but any expectation for him to emerge as dependable backup point guard had to be submerged at least until the Mavs knew if the third-year former first-round draft pick could rediscover the level of play he displayed as a rookie mostly at shooting guard.

On Dec. 13, Dallas signed Delonte West, a true wild card in the sense that he was coming of an injury-riddled season and carried a bit of personal baggage.

One-third into the season, and West, earning the veteran's minimum of $854,389, and Beaubois, making $1.2 million, have given Dallas quite the boost at the point.

The Mavs knew they'd need it simply to help keep stay Kidd relatively rested through this 66-game grind. Little did they know that the ultra-durable Kidd would miss six games in January and more start to February with two separate injuries.

Nor could they have predicted that they'd be 6-0 with Kidd sidelined and really 7-0 if you count Friday's trouncing of the Utah Jazz when Kidd left barely two minutes into the game. The facts are that West, solid all season, and Beaubois, who has really come on of late, have helped Dallas to a 14-8 record with veterans Kidd, Nowitzki and Lamar Odom all playing well below their typical levels.

"We're holding the guys back." Kidd joked the other night.

West started for Kidd earlier in January when Kidd, who is averaging just 4.1 points and 5.1 assists, sat out four games with back spasms. West averaged 9.5 points, 5.3 assists and had 11 steals in those games, numbers that surpass his season averages of 8.4 points and 3.3 assists. Monday night in the blowout at Phoenix, West came off the bench behind Beaubois and dropped five 3-pointers and a season-high 25 points.

Beaubois has dished out seven assists in each of the last three games playing the point while averaging 14.7 points. His season averages continue to trend upward at 7.5 points and 2.4 assists -- of course, the majority of his minutes have come at shooting guard.

Defensively, both have also done the job. Coach Rick Carlisle has continually praised West, who has started at shooting guard for the majority of the season, as the defensive tone-setter. Beaubois took quick Spurs point guard Tony Parker out of the game on Sunday and totally flustered Devin Harris two nights earlier. The lanky, long-armed guard also has 15 blocks in the last seven games.

DALLAS -- J.J. Barea appreciates the Mavericks scheduling the ring ceremony for his trip to the American Airlines Center. He’s excited to finally get his championship jewelry and visit with old friends.

But it will be a bittersweet experience for the former Mavs fan favorite, who desperately wanted to continue his career in Dallas.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who was determined to create as much salary cap space as possible, forced Barea to make a no-brainer business decision. Barea, who was offered only a one-year deal from the Mavs, signed with the Timberwolves for $19 million over four years.

“Things happen,” Barea said. “I’m a little disappointed it went that way. But to get to come here and get the ring with everybody and the fans, it will be nice.”

Barea won’t play against the Mavericks. He’ll miss his fourth consecutive game due to nagging ankle and hamstring injuries, which makes it more of a social visit for him.

“I’m excited to be here, excited to finally get that ring,” Barea said. “I’m just going to enjoy tonight. I wish I was playing, but now I get to talk more and say hi to everybody.”

After the Timberwolves finished their shootaround, Barea headed for the home locker room to say hello to former teammates and coaches, although some of the Mavs weren’t too interested in socializing.

“I just seen him as we walked by, so that was good enough for me,” Jason Terry said. “Now that he’s on the other team, that was good enough for me. A little 20, 30 seconds, how you doing, how’s the family doing and we’re ready to kick their butt tonight.”

UPDATE: The championship ring isn't the only gift Barea is getting from the Mavs in his return.

A high chair and baby rattle was waiting for Barea in the visitors' locker room when the Timberwolves arrived at the arena Wednesday evening. Barea can make good use of the items, as his former Miss Universe girlfriend is expecting, but it's also an old inside joke.

Clipper Darrell, the somewhat famous, extremely vocal fan of L.A's red-and-blue franchise, often referred to Barea as a baby while heckling the Mavs. It started a couple of seasons ago when Barea was shooting free throws during a lopsided Mavs win. Clipper Darrell shouted in the quiet, half-empty Staples Center, "Get that baby off the court!" The Mavs on the bench, led by Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, laughed so hard that they almost rolled on the floor.

"Old jokes," Barea said.

DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks will receive their NBA championship rings in a ceremony before their Jan 25 home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It’s not a coincidence that former Mavs fan favorite J.J. Barea will be in town.

Owner Mark Cuban wanted Barea to be able to take part in the ceremony. Barea, a key role player during the Mavs’ title run, signed a four-year, $19 million contract with the Timberwolves after the Mavs only made him a one-year offer because they wanted to maintain financial flexibility next summer.

“It’s good that J.J. will get to be here,” Cuban said of the ring ceremony. “It’ll be fun.”

The Mavericks held a banner-raising ceremony before their Christmas Day season-opening loss to the Miami Heat. The championship rings were not ready then because Cuban wanted veterans such as Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Shawn Marion to have input on the ring design, which could not happen until the lockout was lifted.

“I like separating the two [ceremonies] actually, because it gives us two chances to sell it,” Cuban said. “It gives fans that couldn’t make opening day a chance to be a part of it. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to separate it again.”

Whatever baggage Delonte West dragged with him to the Dallas Mavericks, no matter the Twitter rants he may unleash and regardless of the strange twists that pop up such as Monday's banned/not-banned White House situation, nothing has stopped the intriguing, tattooed guard from delivering steadying performances.

PODCAST
The real story behind the life and times of Delonte West as told by Slam Magazine's Tzvi Twersky. Listen

West stepped up big Tuesday night in place of injured point guard Jason Kidd, setting the aggressive tone for the 100-86 victory in which Dallas broke it open by 28 points in the third quarter. West delivered a Kidd-like 10 assists, a high for the Mavs this season, with five steals, giving him 18 on the season, fifth-most in the league.

"He’s incredible," guard Jason Terry said. "His energy, we’ve been feeding off of it; obviously without Jason Kidd. I think that people forget about Delonte’s ability to run the team and play point guard. That’s what he was drafted as and he’s a good one."

It's also what he was brought into Dallas to do -- replace J.J. Barea and run the point behind Kidd . But, that changed in the second half of the season opener when coach Rick Carlisle moved Vince Carter to the bench and slid West over to start at shooting guard.

West is playing about 21 minutes a game and while his shooting percentages remain low (43.5 percent overall and 18.2 from 3-point range) his energy and effort -- particularly on defense -- have remained high, and pleasing to Carlisle.

"It’s not often you have a guy on the floor that goes 9-for-10, but there’s a guy on the floor that’s actually the best player on the court," Carlisle said, first noting Dirk Nowitzki's impressive shooting night. "Delonte was the best player on the court because of his competitiveness. That’s what we need right now. We need consistency as a team competitively and he set a great tone for us the last two games."

West will again start at point guard tonight against his former club, the Boston Celtics. And there's no guarantee that Kidd will be ready for Friday's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Kidd was hobbling around the White House on Monday and then returned to Dallas to continue treatment for back spasms in his lower back.

The Mavs pulled to .500 after starting 0-3 by winning five of their last seven. The Celtics also started o-3, but since have Paul Pierce back in the lineup and have won four of five. They'll be well-rested and hungry after suffering a first home loss in their last game back on Friday night.

"For us," West said after Tuesday night's game, "we’re going in there against a team that’s going to try and jump on us, so it’s already forward thinking."

It's tough to find much teamwork in Washington D.C. these days, so President Barack Obama knows it when he sees it.

PODCAST
President Barack Obama congratulates the Dallas Mavericks on the franchise's first NBA Championship. Listen

During Monday's championship ceremony at the White House, Obama credited the Dallas Mavericks' team-oriented style of play last season as the key to their run to the franchise's first championship, and dumping that little team down in Miami.

"Nobody gave them much of a chance," Obama said. "People said that Jason Kidd was too old -- and I will say that this is the first time I’ve been with some world champions that are my contemporaries -- they said J.J. Barea was too small, that Dirk Nowitzki was too slow -- they said you had a great jump shot, but… -- they said DeShawn Stevenson was too crazy. They said the Jet was terrific, but they weren’t sure whether that tattoo was such a good idea.

"But, these players got it done because they know how good teams win, not just by jumping higher or running faster, but by finding the open man, working together, staying mentally tough, being supportive of each other, playing smarter. That’s how the Mavericks took down some of the league’s best teams, including the Miami Heat, who got a little bit of attention last year."

Obama, an avid basketball fan, ended the ceremony by telling the Mavs that it's too bad it will be his hometown Chicago Bulls visiting the White House next year. Then he said the Mavs told him not to count them out just yet. Obama added: "This team really does have a heart that is the size of Texas."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Much of the attention prior to Thursday's game focused on the relationship between the Oklahoma City Thunder's two All-Stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The two got into a heated "debate" as coach Scott Brooks put it, during Wednesday's win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook was initially peeved at shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha for passing up an open 3-point look off a drive-and-dish from Westbrook. The 23-year-old point guard didn't let it die and during a timout a minute later, he and Durant were exchanging words, and by the end of the night it was national news.

Both players blew it off and said the incident should not be used to scrutinize their relationship, but rather taken for what it really was: emotions on high during a frustrating portion of the game when the Thunder allowed an 11-point lead to slip three in a three-minute span.

"It’s a part of the game. It never was meant to spill over so it wasn’t like I did it on purpose to spill over," Westbrook said. "I was just telling my guy to shoot the ball when he was open. It wasn’t like I was telling him something wrong to do, I’m telling my guy to shoot the ball and then the rest of what was happening had nothing to do with that play. But you never get the full story unless you were there to see exactly what happened."

Just three games into the season, the spotlight is definitely turned up on the young Thunder, a team many predict to win the West.

The Mavs had an overheated bench incident last April when Jason Terry and J.J. Barea started jawing on the court after a turnover and bucket the other way. The barking spilled over on the bench during a timeout and coach Rick Carlisle ejected Terry to the end of the bench and then right out of the game. Terry did not return for the second half.

Carlisle wasn't willing to get into the dynamics of another team or how such incidents can affect a squad. But he did offer this:

"Whatever it was last year worked because we won the championship," he said.

So take heart, Oklahoma City.

DALLAS -- Jason Terry didn't have much desire to contemplate former teammate Tyson Chandler's comments Tuesday regarding his non-surprise at the Dallas Mavericks' ugly, 0-2 start.

"Don’t care what Tyson’s saying or what he’s doing right now," Terry said following Tuesday's defense-intensive practice. "He’s not a Maverick, so it is what it is."

Here's what Chandler had to say Monday as chronicled by ESPNNY.com:

"Honestly, I'd kind of seen it coming because when you put a team in a situation and you say, ‘You're the defending champions and we're not necessarily trying to repeat.’ "When I say that, I'm not saying that they don't have the pieces there. I obviously think very highly of those guys. But I say that because they offered everybody one-year deals so they knew nobody was going to necessarily accept that. So you’re basically telling all the players in the locker room we're playing for free agency next year after a championship.

"You've got veteran guys in the locker room. The type of guys that they've got at this time in their career, it's tough to face that so I think they're just going through a little lull right now. But I'm hoping for those guys that it turns around because there's truly good guys in the locker room."

Because of the NBA lockout, the free agency period was a whirlwind. In a matter of days, the Mavs' roster changed dramatically. Players began to understand that owner Mark Cuban's business philosophy had changed under the parameters of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Cuban decided to offer one-year contracts to his free agents (with the understanding it would not be good enough to retain those players) with the goal of going into next summer with plenty of cap space to chase free agents for the first time in Cuban's ownership.

Terry said once it became clear that Chandler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler would not be back, it didn't take long to adjust the mindset.

Of course, after two blowout losses to start the season, if the psychological adjustment wasn't difficult, than it appears that the physical adjustment on the floor will be a process, and perhaps even a bumpy one.

"After you knew he wasn’t coming back, it was over," Terry said. "Again, we have a totally different team this year. We’re searching right now for an identity for this particular ballclub and we know that’s going to take some time. But, again, winning cures all, and watching on film definitely helps, because each person can be accountable and see where they can make an impact on the game."

Prediction time. And, wow, how do you predict how this revamped Dallas Mavericks team will finish a 66-game regular-season schedule over 123 days when the full squad didn't even play one preseason game together?

In fact, the Mavs didn't even finish off the roster until Sean Williams signed Wednesday. Training camp opened Dec. 9, yet Lamar Odom and Vince Carter didn't arrive until a few days later, and Delonte West after that, so coach Rick Carlisle has had his full unit for all of about a week. Add to it that illness kept Brian Cardinal from practicing one day, Brandan Wright from playing in the first exhibition game and Jason Terry and West from playing in the second.

Then there's still the shock factor involved in the deflating losses of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and also Caron Butler. Odom has his own shock factor to overcome in no longer playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two titles and played the last seven seasons and probably figured he'd play seven more.

PODCAST
Ben and Skin discuss what can be taken away from the Mavs' two preseason losses including: Lamar Odom's surprising leadership and the depth of the roster. Listen

And what about Vince Carter? Can this guy still get it done?

With that, Dallas Mavericks, get out there and defend your title.

Could things be any zanier with the season opener quickly approaching on Christmas Day against the -- by comparison -- remarkably stable Miami Heat?

The Mavs might be in flux, but as defending champions they know there will be no sympathy. Hey, it's a jungle out there.

"The constant this year is going to be that the teams we play are going to have the increased edge because they're playing the champions," Carlisle said. "I went through this in 1986-87 -- the year after we won the title in Boston. We saw how it was. Every night it's a championship game. I can talk about it all day long and try to get the guys ready for it. But until the games start coming, we won't really know what it's about. And it's going to add to the challenge. But that's part of it."

The Mavs' two preseason losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who like the Heat did not undergo major changes -- in fact no changes at all -- did lend credence to the notion that Dallas won't get off to a roaring start. The first 15 games will be played in 23 days and includes matchups against Miami, Denver, two against Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Boston, the Lakers and the new-and-improved Clippers.

And, oh yeah, 12 of those games are back-to-back sets.

"Of course, we’ve got to get a feel for where the new guys are going to be at and situations and stuff like that, but for the most part we just walk in and play ball," forward Shawn Marion said. "There’s always going to be some waves. At the same time, you’ve got to be able to take the good with the bad and learn from it."

So, let's get on with the predictions.

Jeff Caplan, ESPN Dallas beat writer
Like everyone else, I expect the Mavs to have their issues early on as assimilation proves challenging. After the lockout, the roster reshaping was fast and furious and inconveniently intertwined with training camp. Carlisle has proven to be quite proficient in finding workable combinations and mixing and matching to suit different situations. He has a deep team at his disposal and he will find lineups that work. The big question is whether he can implore this team to discover a defensive backbone with Chandler now supplying one for Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. My guess is probably not as strong as they will need, and that's going to produce a lot of shootouts, but in the end it won't be a team capable of repeating.
Predicted record: 40-26

Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas beat writer
A slow start should probably be expected from a team fitting in new pieces, especially after seeing the Mavs struggle in the preseason. There will be bumps down the road, too, as the Mavs make resting old legs a priority. The goal is to peak for the playoffs again.
Predicted record: 40-26

Marc Stein, ESPN.com senior NBA writer
The Mavs won't slip as far without Tyson Chandler as you think. Especially not in the regular season because they've still got a lot of depth and versatility after the arrival of Lamar Odom -- one of the best players in league history with zero All-Star invites on his resume -- as a one-year bridge between Chandler and whoever Mark Cuban lands with all that cap space he's amassing. The streak of 11 consecutive 50-win seasons is going to perish thanks to the 66-game condensed schedule. The dropoff in rim protection minus Tyson, furthermore, will eventually punish Dallas in the playoffs. But this group can still get to the West finals. Bank on 41 wins for Dirk and his Mavs at worst.
Predicted record: 41-25

Chuck Cooperstein, Mavs play-by-play voice
After a bumpy start which will see them naturally struggle to assimilate their new pieces, the Mavericks will finish strong and will be a very entertaining team to watch. They will be like the Nellie teams of '02-'05, with a better defensive presence. But, like the Nellie teams (and every other Mavericks team besides 2011), they don't have the necessary presence in the middle to take them all the way.
Predicted record: 43-23

Jeff "Skin" Wade, co-host of "Ben & Skin Show" 103.3 FM ESPN and Mavs TV sideline reporter
The Mavs will once again have a strong playoff run riding the shoulders of the Big German, but their age and demanding schedule prove too tough to overcome and they eventually run out of gas against a younger, hungrier team. But, it'll be a solid year for a franchise transitioning into their next phase with over $20 million in cap space in the summer of 2012 to build a squad for the few remaining years of Dirk's peak. The real trick is for Dallas to know for certain by the end of the season what they have in Roddy B, DoJo and possibly even Brandan Wright.
Predicted record: 40-26

The Dallas Mavericks made tremendous use of switching their guards' defensive assignments last season and particularly so in playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat.

At a rugged, 6-foot-4, but having lost a step defensively against the league's quicker point guards, Jason Kidd often guarded the opposing shooting guard while Dallas' smaller shooting guards, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and even the brawnier DeShawn Stevenson, picked up the point guard. The strategy was employed to better match up against the point, but it also paid dividends on the wing as Kidd gave All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade fits.

That option, however, could be in shorter supply this season now that Barea and Stevenson are gone, and 6-foot-6 Vince Carter would appear to have the inside track as the starting shooting guard.

"If it ends up being Kidd and Carter we’ll see," coach Rick Carlisle said. "There may be times Vince guards a point guard, I don’t know. Generally speaking, it’s going to be Jason most of the time in that scenario. We’ve got a different team now. That’s just the way it is. We’ll adjust and we’ll do what we have to do, but we’ve moved on and the guys we have now are the guys we’re going to have to win with."

The Thunder provide a good example of times the Mavs like the switch. In the Western Conference finals, Kidd typically guarded starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha and Stevenson played a major role defending Russell Westbrook and, at times, even Kevin Durant.

This season the Mavs can switch when Kidd plays alongside Jason Terry or at times Rodrigue Beaubois or Dominique Jones. Carlisle could decide to start Terry and bring Carter off the bench to play with feisty backup point guard Delonte West. But, if Carter is the starter, Kidd will match up at the point.

"We’re both big guards so we’re not going to be able to guard the guy that is extremely fast," Kidd said of he and Carter. "But, we’ve got to make him shoot jump shots. You can have Vince play the 1, 2, 3 and sometimes the 4 because of his athletic ability. Having a guard out there like Jet or Roddy or D.J., we’ll be able to switch a lot."

Kidd sat out the first preseason game on Sunday so tonight should provide the first glimpse at a potential starting lineup and the Mavs' plan of attack defensively.

DALLAS -- This is what we know about the Dallas Mavericks' backcourt: It will have more size, star power and (presumably) firepower than any duo since Steve Nash paired with Michael Finley.

Jason Kidd and 6-foot-6 eight-time All-Star Vince Carter are back together, although a bit older, maybe even slower, and both definitely don't jump as high as they once did. But everyone knows how cunning the stout, 6-foot-4 Kidd is, and his tremendous postseason run at both ends of the court put an end to any notion that he was too old or slow to complete the job.

As for Carter, a human highlight reel for the duration of his career, he said he is learning how to play the game effectively from a somewhat lower vantage point.

"Just smarter," Carter said of the evolution of his game. "I’ve taken pride in trying to learn the game of basketball throughout the years. I’ve come from a great program [North Carolina] where I was taught the game anyway, so for me it’s just continue to find ways to be effective. I’m not really into trying to jump over people anymore."

Dallas boasted a terrific backcourt last season with players of varying skills and expertise. Gone is the mad-dog defender DeShawn Stevenson, who developed quite a lethal 3-pointer, as well. Gone is J.J. Barea, who frustrated defenses with his quick attacks to the basket and became as equally proficient passing it out or dumping it off as he did finishing off drives himself.

Carter, a superior offensive threat, effectively replaces Stevenson, with Delonte West taking over Barea's job as Kidd's backup.

Let's break down the two guard positions:

Point guard: If Stevenson was thought to be a bit on the extreme side, how best to describe West? Well, the Mavs hope the slender 6-foot-3 veteran can handle the basketball, hit a few shots and defend. His priority is to allow Kidd the rest he'll need during a 66-game schedule that will be played in a whirlwind 123 days. In his seven seasons, West, who recently described himself as a "poor man's Jason Kidd," hasn't exactly been a durable workhorse over his career, having only once played as many as 71 games in a season and six times having played 69 games or fewer. The goal is to keep Kidd's minutes around 30 or fewer per game, and there might be times throughout 20 back-to-backs and one back-to-back-to-back that Kidd might get a night off.

"With Delonte, he’s a veteran guy that can knock down a shot, he can defend anybody. He knows how to play, he’s been in the game a while now," Kidd said. "So we all trust him and understand he plays well with the ball or without the ball."

If West isn't in the lineup on the majority of nights, it will put tremendous pressure on Rodrigue Beaubois to make massive strides at point guard. Beaubois remains a far more confident player at shooting guard and it could be too much to ask him to take on large chunks of time at the point. Second-year combo guard Dominique Jones could also see time at point.

Shooting guard: "Vinsanity" takes over at 2-guard -- at least he would seem the obvious candidate with Jason Terry entrenched as the sixth man. The Mavs have long searched for a big, capable scorer at the 2. Last season with Stevenson, they certainly got bigger and more tenacious on the defensive end, but Stevenson certainly wasn't an explosive, create-his-own-shot type of player. With Carter, the Mavs might have the size and offense they've always craved, but they might run into defensive matchup issues. Dallas likes to use Kidd on shooting guards because, at 38, he just can't keep up with many of the young point guards in the league, while the 2-guard takes the opposing point. Carter, at his size and with knee issues, is not a candidate to slide over on the point guard. Terry, obviously, allows that flip and so, too, would either Beaubois or Jones. Carter's presence should allow Terry to dip his minutes some, but crunch time will be the most interesting time to see how coach Rick Carlisle plays things.

Terry loves late-game pressure and has all kinds of skins on the wall, and he won't want to lose that responsibility to Carter or anyone else.

DALLAS – J.J. Barea is gone to Minnesota. DeShawn Stevenson soon will land with a team that will give him more money and minutes than the Mavericks did.

PODCAST
Ben and Skin spend a segment talking about Delonte West and hot sauce. Seriously. Listen

Meanwhile, Delonte West gives the Mavs some of the best elements both of those guys offered.

At least, that’s the Mavs’ hope for West, although that seems to be expecting a lot from a man who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

“West is a guy that can give us Barea’s penetration,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He can give us Stevenson’s edginess and toughness.”

Added president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson: “It’s almost kind of the perfect combination of those two guys.”

West will be the Mavs’ primary backup point guard. They hope he can adequately fill Barea’s shoes as a pick-and-roll ballhandler and scoring point guard for the second unit.

West, a starter on a 66-win Cleveland team a few years ago, will also be counted on to occasionally fill Stevenson’s shoes as a heavily tattooed defensive stopper who gets under the skin of opponents.

“You talk about a guy that’s gutsy,” Nelson said. “Without DeShawn, we’re missing a little of that mental, take-no-prisoners toughness. That’s what [West is] all about. He’s a winner. He’s not afraid of any situation.”

West does come with some off-the-court baggage. According to reports, he was arrested in 2009 after police found four weapons -- a Beretta 9mm, a Ruger .357 magnum, a shotgun (in a guitar case) and a Bowie knife -- after pulling over West for negligent driving on a three-wheel motorcycle. West, who has bipolar disorder, pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to home detention and probation.

However, West’s character isn’t a concern for the Mavs. They see him as a gym rat who gives them a needed dose of nastiness.

“Listen, I like milk drinkers, but I don’t like too many milk drinkers,” Carlisle said. “We need guys that are edgy, that bring attitude.”

Ricky Rubio meet J.J. Barea, and take good notes.

Learn about heart, sweat and guts. Learn how to deal with adversity in the no-mercy NBA. Learn how to overcome. Learn how to be a winner.

Why else do you think the Minnesota Timberwolves outbid the New York Knicks and everybody else and signed the 5-foot-10 world champion to a four-year, $19 million contract on Wednesday?

From a young spark plug on the veteran-laden Dallas Mavericks, Barea, 27, is now an elder statesman of sorts and a mentor in every way to the Timberwolves' Spanish-speaking and once-reluctant No. 5 pick.

"I think that was one of things. I also think what helps me is I came from a great team, great system in Dallas, and I was a big part of the championship team," Barea said after a long day of meeting his new teammates and coaches and beginning the process of settling into his new home of Minneapolis. "I’m going to help him as much as I can. He’s a good kid and I know, I went through it, how hard it is the first couple of years, the ups and downs of the NBA. So, I’m going try to keep him positive and help him out as much as I can."

Hard to believe that Barea, a native of Puerto Rico who had a brilliant, if not a mostly anonymous career at Northeastern, is a five-year NBA veteran, his last three seasons spent as a 20-minute-a-night backup to Jason Kidd, while at times also playing alongside the future Hall of Famer, which could become a similar situation with the slick playmaker from Spain.

"He’s a great kid, talented, but he’s a rookie," Barea said. "He’s young. It’s going to be his first year in the NBA; it’s never easy so I’m going to help him as much as I can with whatever I know."

At the same time as Barea begins a brave new world in the snowy midwest, it remains difficult for him to let go of his ties to Dallas and what might have been if owner Mark Cuban hadn't of slammed on the brakes on the old way of doing business and made a B-line toward salary cap space in this new collective bargaining agreement era.

Cuban bid farewell to free agents Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler and Peja Stojakovic. Barea, who desperately wanted to return and chase back-to-back titles, said discussions with Cuban never reached a dollar figure because the owner wasn't budging from a one-year deal that Barea would never accept.

"It’s never going to be personal against Mark or [president of basketball operations Donnie [Nelson] or whoever," Barea said. "But, it’s still disappointing after you win a title and that’s all you fight for and then to break up a team like that it’s always going to be disappointing. But, that’s the direction they wanted to go and that’s what they’re doing."

Barea will participate in his first full practice today with the Timberwolves, a team so often a doormat, but this season is at least intriguing. Rick Adelman takes over as head coach. Rubio, 21, is the point guard. Derrick Williams is the 20-year-old rookie. Kevin Love, 23, is the double-double machine. There's erratic and talented and still immature 22-year-old Michael Beasley, 22-year-old Anthony Randolph, 24-year-old Wesley Johnson, 26-year-old Anthony Tolliver and just 26-year-old Darko Milicic.

In other words, the T'pups are the anti-Mavs.

"It’s weird. It’s weird, but it’s something new for me and another experience I’m going to have," Barea said. "It was great five years in Dallas. Everything about my first five years in Dallas was awesome. This is a nice, little roster. It’s young, really young, but it’s going to be fun."

Especially if Barea can help the hopeful face of the franchise find his way in his own brave new world.

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks finally got the whole gang together for the first time to practice Wednesday and then Dirk Nowitzki had to head home with an illness.

Still, it was the first time that newcomers Lamar Odom, Vince Carter and the most recently signed, Delonte West, were all on the floor for the first of two practices today.

West, who will handle backup point guard duties for the departed J.J. Barea, said it was just good to be back playing NBA basketball again and that he's excited to pick up where Barea left off playing behind Jason Kidd.

"For a little guy, those are big shoes to fill," West said of Barea, before comparing his game somewhat to the future Hall of Famer he'll back up. "With the green eyes and 15 pounds lighter, you might say I'm a poor man's Jason Kidd."

Well, Mavs fans will get to make that determination for themselves as the season wears on. The ultimate goal for West is to allow Kidd to play about 30 minutes a night and even less in some instances throughout the compacted 66-game schedule.

West, who held down a job as a delivery man/stock room worker at a furniture store during the offseason, said he had several options for the season, but when he got the call from the Mavs he knew where he was going. And it wasn't back to Regency Furniture Showrooms where he got that job during the lockout because the court system wouldn't let him play basketball overseas stemming from his 2009 arrest for driving around with three guns.

West's one-year deal with the Mavs is for $1.1 million.

"I had a few options, but then the world champions come knocking, and me just being a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, just the way they play, an opportunity to play with -- a lot might not agree, but -- I would say play with the best basketball player, one of the best basketball players in the world with Nowitzki, and being able to learn from Jason Kidd -- I actually think our games emulate each other in a way," West said. "With J.T. (Jason Terry) being the sixth man of the year, Lamar Odom, there's a lot of things that I can pick up from guys like that and I'm just excited to be here."

Backup point guard Delonte West has officially signed a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum -- about $1.2 million -- with the Dallas Mavericks.

The 6-foot-3 West is a seven-year veteran who owns career averages of 9.7 points, 3.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 388 games (225 starts) for Boston, Seattle and Cleveland. In 2008-09, West played alongside LeBron James in Cleveland and started each of his 64 games and averaged 11.7 points, 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the foul line.

Originally the first-round draft pick (24^th overall) of the Boston Celtics in 2004, West played in just 39 games his rookie season before becoming the starting shooting guard in his second year. That season, West started each of his 71 contests for the Celtics and averaged 11.8 points, 4.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game.

West will take over the backup duties for J.J. Barea.