The buzz is that Rodrigue Beaubois has gone from "pretty much untouchable" -- as Mark Cuban called the dynamic guard a couple of years ago -- to being quietly shopped.

That's what ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reports in his TrueHoop post on trade rumors:

Sources say Dallas is about ready to move on from the Roddy Beaubois experiment. The Mavericks have thought for years that the talented young Frenchman could be another Tony Parker, but he has not been able to master the move from shooting guard to point guard. Nor has he been able to fill the void left by J.J. Barea. If they don't move him before this year's deadline, he could be gone over the summer.

Cuban said recently that Beaubois remains in the Mavs' long-term plans, but the Mavs' owner wasn't hooked up to a polygraph when he made that statement.

Beaubois' struggles since he broke his foot while training with the French national team in the summer of 2010 have been well chronicled. He's had some flashes of brilliance this season, but it seemed telling that Beaubois dropped back out of the rotation as soon as Jason Kidd returned from a strained right calf.

With Delonte West sidelined another month or so, there should be minutes available for Beaubois after the All-Star break, when he returns from a personal leave to grieve his father's death. However, it might be in the best interests of Beaubois to get a fresh start elsewhere in the near future.

Don't expect much in return for a player that Cuban claimed he'd only trade for a superstar two years ago. The Mavs would most likely get a draft pick -- and not a lottery pick, like they were offered in 2010.

This would be a financial move for the Mavs, who are trying to create as much salary cap space as possible this summer. Moving Beaubois in a salary dump, similar to the December deal the Mavs made to ship Corey Brewer and Rudy Fernandez to Denver, would clear another $2.23 million off the books.

Every couple of million counts when you're trying to land Dwight Howard and/or Deron Williams.

At this point, that possibility is more valuable than the reality of Roddy B.