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ESPNDallas.com will estimate the market value for each of the Mavericks' eight free agents and examine their worth to the Mavs in a once-per-day series.

Brandan Wright

Brandan Wright would like to be back with the Mavericks.

The Mavs would like to keep Wright, a young, athletic center/forward who took advantage of his return to the rotation in the final month and a half, averaging 11.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks as a 24-minute-per-night part-time starter in the final 23 games. Wright was a major reason why the Mavs went 15-8 during that stretch and probably earned millions in the process.

“The truth is Brandan is a very unique player. He fits in with us. He fits in with our personnel,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “There’s some teams that he really plays great against. That’s been consistent for both years. There’s other teams where it’s tougher for him because of the physical strength, some of the bruising type teams. But we like him. He has continued to get better.

“We met with him (the day after the season ended) and told him that we definitely wanted him back here. These decisions are going to come down to the money and the market and so on and so forth, but he’s a guy that we like.”

It could be more complicated than just the money. Timing of negotiations with Wright could be tricky, too.

Wright feels a sense of loyalty to the franchise that picked him up off the scrap heap after the lockout, but he’s facing the first major business decision of his career. He understands, however, that he won’t be the Mavs’ top priority this summer.

What if Wright gets an offer he likes while the Mavs are pursuing Dwight Howard or Chris Paul or whoever their Plan C, D, E, etc. might be? Wright might not have the luxury of waiting to see whether the Mavs would be able or willing to match.

There is strong mutual interest in Wright returning to the Mavs. Now, it’s a matter of whether the business of basketball gets in the way.

2012-13 stats: Averaged 8.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 59.7 percent from the floor in 18.0 minutes per game. His player efficiency rating (PER) of 21.03 ranked 20th in the league.

Age: 25

Comps:

Brandon Bass – Averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor in 27.6 minutes per game. Signed three-year, $19.4 million deal in 2012.

JaVale McGee – Averaged 9.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 57.5 percent in 18.1 minutes per game. Signed four-year, $44 million deal in 2012.

Ed Davis – Averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 53.9 percent in 20.1 minutes per game. Has one season remaining on rookie contract.

Amir Johnson – Averaged 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting 55.4 percent from the floor in 28.7 minutes per game. Signed five-year, $30 million deal in 2010.

Estimated contract: Bass got $18 million over four years after his two-season stint with the Mavs. Ian Mahinmi, another two-year Mavs project, got $16 million over four years. The bidding for Wright figures to start in that range.

Here’s how Mark Cuban views the first NBA postseason that doesn’t include Dallas in a dozen years: "Mavs fans just want teams with free agents to get eliminated early."

Well, then Lakers-Spurs couldn’t have gone better, huh?

After all, Dwight Howard’s team got swept. Heck, Howard didn’t even stick around the whole four games, getting ejected early in the second half of the embarrassing finale. And then he called his season in Los Angeles "a nightmare."

Howard, as expected, is sending all sorts of mixed messages about whether he’ll stay or leave L.A. It’s at least enough of a possibility that the Mavs must be fully prepared to make their best recruiting pitch.

And, no, there isn’t any question about whether the Mavs would want to take on all that Dwight drama. Here’s a pretty good rule of thumb for NBA GMs: If you can get the game’s best big man in his prime, do it.

Howard has plenty of baggage, but he’s a perennial All-Star who averaged 17.1 points, a league-high 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in a down year while coming off back surgery and dealing with a bum shoulder. He represents the Mavs’ best chance of pulling off the "quick rebuild" that Cuban is determined to make happen.

(That’s assuming Chris Paul stays with the Clippers, which we’ll probably address after the other L.A. team’s playoff run is over.)

Let’s make another thing clear: A lack of cap space won’t be the reason if the Mavs miss out on Howard. They’d have to move Shawn Marion or Vince Carter to be able to give him a max deal, but it wouldn’t be difficult to dump the salary of a quality veteran entering the last year of his contract. (CBA expert Larry Coon details the Mavs’ cap situation to the dollar here.)

First and foremost, it’s a matter of whether Howard is miserable enough as a SoCal scapegoat to leave the Lakers’ five-year, $118 million offer on the table to take $87.6 million over four years from another team.

If that’s the case, then Cuban, Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle and that goofy German guy must make a strong enough pitch to persuade Howard to pick Dallas instead of other potential destinations, such as Houston or Atlanta.

All due respect to Dirk Nowitzki, who is more than willing to become the second fiddle to accommodate a twenty-something superstar, but the presence of one of the all-time best power forwards can’t be the Mavs’ primary selling point. Not with Nowitzki turning 35 this summer and James Harden just approaching his prime in Houston.

The Mavs must sell Howard on their ability to build and sustain a contender around him. They did it for a dozen years around Dirk, and they need to make Howard believe they can do it for a decade around him.

Cuban, who is making the great sacrifice of not scheduling any "Shark Tank" tapings during the July free agency period, has to paint a championship picture for Howard. The big man has to believe, with the Mavs scheduled to have a ton of cap space again next summer, that the front office can put the pieces around him required to get another ring.

Two major pieces are in place: Nowitzki and coach Rick Carlisle, who can help the Mavs’ cause by showing clips of some of the plays the Pacers used to run to get Jermaine O'Neal the rock during his All-Star days.

And the Mavs must play to Howard’s flaws, convincing him that he’ll be comfortable in Dallas for the rest of his career. It helps that the front office has a strong relationship with agent Dan Fegan, who also represents Marion.

Is it likely that Howard will leave L.A. for Dallas? Nope.

But, hey, what were the odds in October that the Lakers wouldn’t win a single playoff game? That stunning development – and all the drama that unfolded this season in L.A. – certainly improved the Mavs’ odds of landing the NBA’s best big man as their next centerpiece.

LOS ANGELES -- Sunday could be the last game Dwight Howard plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The question is: Should it be?

The Lakers have already made their intentions clear. They want Howard back.

"Dwight is our future," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said back in February to debunk all the trade rumors that were swirling.

"It's hard to get talent in this league, and to have a talent like Dwight Howard, we have no intention of trading Dwight Howard," Kupchak continued. "He belongs to have his name on the wall [as a retired uniform] and a statue in front of Staples [Center] at some point in time."

They certainly won't be erecting a statue based on Howard's 2012-13 alone. In a season that started with Howard coming off of spinal surgery -- later admitting that his back could have feasibly kept him out of the lineup until March -- and included Howard missing six games because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Howard never lived up to the "Superman" reputation that preceded his arrival here.

The nine-year veteran made his seventh All-Star team, but his 17.1 points per game were his lowest average since his second season in the league, his 12.4 rebounds were his lowest since his third season, and his 49.2 percent mark from the foul line represented the second straight season he's shot less than 50 percent from the charity stripe. Not to mention the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner finished tied for 14th in the voting for the award this season.

With Kobe Bryant going down with a season-ending Achilles tear, Howard's numbers have increased to 20.6 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor in five games as the No. 1 option with Bryant gone. But the Lakers have gone just 2-3, including 0-3 to open up their first round series against the San Antonio Spurs.

All year long, when asked about his future plans after this season, Howard's go-to response was that he was only concentrating on winning a championship in L.A. in 2013.

Barring the Lakers becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 deficit to win their series against the Spurs, and then somehow going on to win three more series without Bryant on the court, Howard's championship goal will go unfulfilled this season.

So, what will he decide to do?

While the Lakers have been forthright with their plan to build around Howard, the 27-year-old has been evasive as to whether he sees his future including L.A.

When asked about what the offseason could bring following Saturday's practice, Howard said, "I haven't thought about it."

Even if Howard wasn't telling the truth, he can't act on any decision he would make for more than two months; he becomes a free agent July 1.

At that point, Howard can sign a five-year, $118 million contract to stay with the Lakers, or a four-year, $87.6 million deal with another team.

While the extra $31 million in guaranteed money might not seem like as big a deal for a player who is on a career track to warrant yet another max contract when his next one is up, Howard learned that he isn't as indestructible as he thought this season, after only missing seven games total in his first seven seasons in Orlando.

According to several sources familiar with Howard's thinking, Howard will likely explore free agency before reaching his final decision. In today's media landscape, that means there will be a circus in July while Howard hears pitches from the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Even if it is merely Howard doing his due diligence before making a major life decision, the frenzy it is sure to create will give Howard a taste of the backlash he could face if he ultimately decides to uproot from L.A. just one year removed from the "Dwightmare" that surrounded his exit from Orlando.

As bad as Howard's first season in Los Angeles went -- from a coaching change, to myriad injuries, to the death of the Lakers' legendary owner Dr. Jerry Buss, a media spotlight that criticized him for everything from his free throws to lack of effort to the headband and arm sleeve he wore -- L.A. is still set up to be a place for his career to blossom.

The things that could give him pause, mainly his relationship with Bryant and his belief in Mike D'Antoni, can be worked on, and if Howard indeed signs a five-year deal, odds are he'll outlast both of those guys in L.A. anyway.

While Howard has been tight-lipped when it comes to answers about his future plans all season long, maybe his true intention has been on his Twitter profile all this time.

Howard's avatar shows him in a gold Lakers uniform staring down at a basketball that he holds in both of his big hands. Behind him hang the uniforms of legendary Lakers big men: George Mikan's No. 99, Wilt Chamberlain's No. 13, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33 and Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34.

His Twitter bio is three words: "After the ring!"

We'll find out sometime in the coming months after the season whether he'll continue to seek that ring with the Lakers, or if he'll have to change that avatar of his.

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki has made it clear that he can’t stomach the thought of finishing his career fighting just to make the playoffs.

That doesn’t mean he’s pondering ever putting on another NBA franchise’s uniform. He’s simply pointing out the importance of the front office making major roster upgrades this summer to give the Mavericks a chance to compete for championships again.

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Chuck Cooperstein and Tim MacMahon to discuss the Mavericks' disappointing season and what needs to happen for them to get back to the playoffs. Listen

“Honestly, I can’t really see myself going anywhere else but here,” Nowitzki said at the beginning of his first playoff-free offseason since 2000. “Really, the pressure is on Mark (Cuban) and Donnie (Nelson) to get this franchise back to where it belongs, and they know that. Then we’re all good, everything’s fine.

“I mean, I belong to this city. That’s just the bottom line. I could never see myself playing for another franchise, putting another jersey on. That would be probably the hardest thing I’d have to do in my life. I want to stay here, but I also want to play at a high level with a good team that we can be proud of and represent this city and this franchise.”

Nowitzki, who intends to sign a two- or three-year deal when his current contract expires after next season, is willing to do anything he can to help the Mavs recruit free agents this summer.

Unlike most summers, he’ll be in Dallas instead of his native Germany the majority of the time. That’s largely because his wife, Jessica, is expecting the couple’s first child. However, Nowitzki said he planned to be in Dallas at the beginning of July for professional reasons anyway.

“It’s a big summer,” Nowitzki said. “I would have probably been here in July regardless to knock on Cuban’s bunker suite every other day and see what he’s got cooking.”

The ever optimistic Cuban recently noted that Nowitzki’s wife is much more attractive than him, so the future Hall of Famer must have some persuasive skills. Those will be tested in early July, with Nowitzki still holding out hope that he can help talk Chris Paul and/or Dwight Howard into leaving Los Angeles for Dallas – or at least help recruit more realistic talent upgrades.

“I can try, but I’m really not the most positive person,” Nowitzki said. “I guess that’s a German thing.”

Nowitzki can confidently talk in glowing terms about his experiences living in Dallas and playing for Cuban, Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle. Those three men would be a major part of Nowitzki’s basketball sales pitch.

“We have a great owner and a great GM in place. We have a great coach in place that coached us to win the championship,” Nowitzki said. “We’ve got a couple of veterans (Shawn Marion and Vince Carter) still under contract. We’ve got some veteran leadership already, and then we’ve got a lot of roster space.

“We’ve got some cap space and we can get some players in here that can help. I think all those three experienced guys, they’ve still got something left in the tank. Come on in, we’ll see how far we can ride it out.”

Nowitzki plans to ride it out in Dallas until he retires, which is at least three years away.

LOS ANGELES – Coach Rick Carlisle cited “embracing our imperfections” as one of the keys to the Mavericks’ 11-5 March.

Perhaps their biggest flaw bit the Mavs hard as they opened April with a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs, who rank third to last in the league in rebounding differential, got absolutely dominated on the glass by the longer, more athletic Lakers. L.A. had a 57-37 rebounding edge and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.

“That’s really the game,” Carlisle said. “I know they’re big, but our persistence has to make up for our lack of size.”

That definitely wasn’t the case in Tuesday night’s critical loss. NBA rebounding leader Dwight Howard grabbed a dozen boards in addition to his game-high 24 points, and he was one of four Lakers to post double-doubles. Actually, Kobe Bryant (24-11-11) had a triple-double, with Earl Clark (17-12) and Pau Gasol (14-10) contributing to the Lakers’ paint domination.

“Ain’t no excuses” said Shawn Marion, who led the Mavs with seven rebounds. “If you really want it, you’re going to get it done. All the loose balls went to them. All the 50/50 balls went to them. It’s frustrating, man.”

Added Vince Carter, who grabbed just a lone rebound in 27 minutes: “We had our moments where we just let them take advantage of us.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ crushing loss:

1. Dirk’s dud: Coming off his best week of the season, Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t keep it going against the Lakers.

The Mavs’ superstar was held to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He even looked like Dwight Howard from the free throw line, making only 2-of-6 attempts.

The Lakers simply never let Nowitzki, who had 33- and 35-point performances last week and scored 30 in the Mavs’ last meeting with L.A., establish a rhythm. He was more effective as a distributor (six assists) than a scorer.

“They had long bodies on him. They were physical with him,” Carlisle said. “When we got him a lot of touches, a lot of times he was forced to pass. Unfortunately, we were unable to hit a lot of the shots where he kicked out. Getting him quality shots is always going to be tougher against better teams and experienced teams.”

Added Nowitzki: “I didn’t have a lot of easy ones tonight. I had to work for it. The ones I did have, I’ve just got to knock down.”

2. Kaman’s contributions: Chris Kaman, the 7-footer with the $8 million salary, led the Mavs in scoring with 14 points after making his first start since March 20.

Kaman, who refused to speak to reporters after the game, made 7-of-10 shots from the floor and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes. That came on the heels of playing a total of 12 minutes in the Mavs’ previous four games, including two DNP-CDs.

“I think Kaman is a good player and he’s a guy we need,” Carlisle said. “I thought coming into tonight, our best chance to get something out of him was to start him because he can get open looks, he’s a big body, he can use some of his fouls on Howard early. I thought he did a really solid job out there.”

The Mavs didn’t get much out of their two big men who had been playing the vast majority of the minutes. Brandan Wright and Elton Brand combined for only six points and six rebounds in 30 minutes.

3. Love for Shaq: The Lakers retired Shaquille O’Neal’s number at halftime, giving Mark Cuban an opportunity to reminisce about his days as verbal sparring partner with the legendary big man.

“He was a beast,” Cuban said. “But forget the player. Everybody knows who he was as a player. He's just a great guy. He brought so much fun and attitude and energy to the game. That's what makes Shaq special then and now.

“Plus he was a nice foil. He would come at me and I think when he realized I wouldn't back down from him, that I'd come right back at him, then it got fun for both of us. And we've stayed friends. We're good friends now.”

LOS ANGELES -- Chris Kaman will be the Mavericks' third center in three games.

Kaman will match up with the Lakers' Dwight Howard, making this the 23rd starting lineup the Mavs have used this season.

It's the 7-foot veteran's first start since March 20, when Brooklyn big man Brook Lopez scored a season-high 38 points in a Mavs loss.

Brandan Wright has been the Mavs' starting center most games recently, but the slight 6-foot-10 Wright has trouble dealing with powerful big men such as Howard. Elton Brand started Saturday's win against the Bulls, a game in which Wright had 17 points and 13 rebounds off the bench and Kaman did not play due to a coach's decision.

A preseason guarantee that the Dallas Mavericks would be only a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Lakers when they left for this late-season trip to L.A. would have certainly pleased Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavs’ superstar just didn’t imagine that scenario would play out like this.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Mavericks-Lakers game Tuesday night. If the Mavs lose, are their playoff hopes over? Listen

“I was hoping it would be for a number two or three seed, not for nine,” Nowitzki said with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, it’s been, I guess, a tough season for both teams.”

That’s an understatement. As Nowitzki noted, the Lakers’ cluster of stars (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol), have all dealt with significant injuries this season, with Kobe currently bothered by a bone spur in his foot and Nash doubtful to play against Dallas due to hamstring and hip issues. It’s also been a season-long soap opera in L.A., with the Kobe-Dwight dynamic as the main storyline with subplots such as firing the head coach after five games and snubbing the brother-in-law with 11 championship rings.

For the Mavs, it’s been more like a long series of Survivor, except the guys who get voted off the island keep getting replaced. Dallas has used 22 players – remember Eddy Curry playing a significant role in the season-opening win over the Lakers?! – and 22 starting lineups.

Oh, and Nowitzki missed three times as many games as he did in any of the previous 14 seasons of his Hall of Fame career and struggled mightily upon his return, the primary reason the Mavs are in the position of “trying to be the greatest comeback since Lazarus,” as coach Rick Carlisle says. (Or at least since the 1996-97 Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns, the last two teams to make the playoffs after digging out of a 10-games-under-.500 hole.)

Call them excuses if you want, but there are legitimate reasons that two of the league’s proudest franchises have been reduced to fighting with the Utah Jazz for the West’s final playoff spot. Not that the rest of the NBA feels any sympathy for teams that have combined to win three of the last four titles.

The playoffs will go on without at least one of these teams. Maybe both.

If the Lakers miss the playoffs, they’d go down as one of the biggest disappointments in pro sports history. It’d be stunning to see such a star-studded roster flop for a franchise that has failed to qualify for the playoffs only twice since 1976, winning 10 titles in that span.

If the Mavs miss the playoffs, the league’s second longest postseason streak would be snapped at a dozen seasons. It’d mean the Mavs went from a championship parade to a lottery pick in a span of only two years.

Those would be miserable fates for two franchises that frankly have grown so accustomed to qualifying for the postseason that it feels more like a prerequisite than an accomplishment.

The ruthless competitors who serve as faces of their respective franchises aren’t going to go down without a fight. That makes Tuesday night’s matchups must-watch TV, must like their nationally televised duel the last time these teams met, when Kobe’s “Amnesty THAT” performance one-upped Dirk’s 30-point, 13-rebound outing.

“Hey, both [teams] have a lot of pride, a lot of fight in them,” said Nowitzki, who has led the Mavs to a 23-14 record since the season’s low point, including an 11-5 March. “It should be a fun matchup [Tuesday] night. It’s national TV. Staples Center. Jack Nicholson courtside. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Well, it’s been better. But it doesn’t get much more pressure packed.

The eighth-place Utah Jazz own the tiebreaker over both the Mavs and Lakers, so the loser of Tuesday night’s late TNT game is in huge trouble. That’s especially true if it’s the Mavs, who would need the Lakers and Jazz to choke down the stretch to have a chance.

“We’ve had must-win games since January,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “so this is nothing new for us.”

Missing the playoffs would be something new. The Mavs – and the Lakers, for that matter – are fighting to keep their flames from being extinguished.

Mark Cuban apparently was shooting straight when he declared that the Mavericks almost pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal before the trade deadline.

In fact, it appears he was speaking “The Truth,” aka Paul Pierce.

PODCAST
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss who he wants to keep for next season, O.J. Mayo's impressive night and much more. Listen

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the Mavs nearly landed the Celtics legend in a three-way deal that would have sent Josh Smith to Boston. That supports the coy claims that Cuban made after the deadline passed with the Mavs just making a minor deal to acquire Anthony Morrow from the Hawks.

“It was crazy,” Cuban said the day after the deadline on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM. “We thought we had a bunch of things done, literally a bunch of things done. We had teams get cold feet at the last minute. … Things that would have used cap room next year, would have had money next year, that were high-dollar guys, difference-maker guys.”

Yahoo! reported that the Mavs would have sent a package of fringe rotation players (Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and since-traded Dahntay Jones) to Atlanta, plus swapping positions with the playoff-bound Hawks in the upcoming draft. The deal reportedly didn’t happen because Boston refused to send its first-round pick to the Hawks.

It would have been fascinating to see Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki play together a decade and a half after the debate about whether the Mavs made a mistake by not selecting Pierce in the 1998 NBA draft. The pair of surefire Hall of Famers ended up being far and away the two best players in that draft, with all due respect to Mavs sixth man Vince Carter.

The 35-year-old Pierce, whose $15.3 million salary next season is only partially guaranteed, still has plenty left in the tank. He is averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season.

Theoretically, Pierce would have started at small forward for the Mavs with Shawn Marion making room for him by moving to the bench to back up both forward positions. The addition of Pierce, a proven closer, could have done wonders for fixing the Mavs’ crunch-time misery this season.

Would the addition of Pierce have made the Mavs a championship-caliber team? Probably not, but it certainly would have increased their chances of making the playoffs and doing some damage in late April and early May.

It’s also proof that Cuban’s competitive fire burns as strongly as ever, as well as evidence that the Mavs are reasonably not very optimistic about their odds of winning the Dwight Howard summer sweepstakes.

The deal didn’t go down, but it’s serves as an example of the possibilities for a creative front office that has financial flexibility in today’s NBA. And that, as much as free agency, will make for a fascinating summer in Dallas.

Mark Cuban predicted this summer that there would be chemistry problems for the loaded Los Angeles Lakers and pretty much openly prayed to the basketball gods that the NBA's glamour team would "suck."

However, if you had promised Cuban before the season started that his Dallas Mavericks would be only one game behind L.A. when the Lakers came to town Sunday, he surely would have been pleased.

Well, that is indeed the situation with the Lakers arriving at the American Airlines Center for an ABC afternoon matinee (noon CT; ESPN Radio pregame show at 11 a.m. CT). Ninth place in the Western Conference is at stake!

That's right -- the two franchises that have combined to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy three of the past four summers are fighting for the spot that would get the fewest ping pong ball combinations in the draft lottery. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Of course, the Lakers and Mavs still harbor much bigger hopes. They're both planning to make a playoff push, with the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets 3 games ahead of the Lakers and 4 up on the Mavs.

If the Lakers and Mavs both fail, this would be the first postseason not to feature either franchise since 1993-94, when Dallas won a grand total of 13 games and L.A. went through three coaches.

That ain't happening, according to Kobe Bryant. The five-time champion recently issued a guarantee that the Lakers would be busy in late April -- and perhaps beyond.

"It's not a question of if we make the playoffs," Bryant insisted to Sports Illustrated. "We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone."

Dirk Nowitzki, the 11-time All-Star and (currently hairy) face of the Mavs' franchise, isn't nearly as bold with his forecast of Dallas' immediate future. The Mavs have a much more modest goal at the moment: Get back to .500 so they can finally shave those bushy beards Dirk and a handful of teammates have been growing since they made a pact last month.

"We're gonna keep pushing, gonna keep fighting," Nowitzki often says, which has more or less become the Mavs' mantra.

Frankly, the Mavs' struggles can't be considered a surprise. Nowitzki and Shawn Marion are the only pieces remaining from the cast that swept Phil Jackson into retirement in 2011, roaring past the two-time defending champ Lakers in the West semifinals en route to a long-awaited championship parade in downtown Dallas. There hasn't been much joy in Mavs-land since that glorious run.

After studying the new collective bargaining agreement, Cuban opted for the unpopular tactic of letting key championship pieces such as Tyson Chandler leave in free agency, making financial flexibility a priority over keeping an aging team together.

(That dastardly CBA prompted Cuban, who loves to prick the purple-and-gold, to oh-so-helpfully, hypothetically suggest Friday that the Lakers use the amnesty clause on Kobe this summer to avoid the large luxury-tax spikes that loom next season. That was received in Southern California about as well as a monsoon.)

Dallas' title-team leftovers were swept in the first round last spring, and the Mavs settled for putting together a potluck supporting cast consisting of one-year deals and expiring contracts after whiffing on Deron Williams while Cuban filmed "Shark Tank" this summer. The Mavs were expected to have to scrap for a playoff spot even before Nowitzki needed his right knee scoped in October, an operation that ended up sidelining him for the season's first 27 games, putting Dallas' dozen-year postseason streak in serious jeopardy.

But the Mavs will have enough cap space this summer to make Dwight Howard the face of the franchise's future should the perennial All-NBA big man decide the Lakers life isn't for him -- and picks Dallas over other potential destinations such as Houston and his hometown Atlanta. That actually seems like a distinct possibility after all the Kobe-Dwight drama during the Lakers' sorry first half of the season.

Aside from Cuban's snarky comments about potential chemistry issues, it was widely assumed that the Lakers would be a West power after they won the summer, pulling off deals to land a pair of future Hall of Famers in Howard and Steve Nash. The fact that the Lakers have been a $100-million mess has stunned folks around the league.

"They've had some issues -- everybody's following them -- but I still think they're so talented," Nowitzki said. "I still think they're going to make a run at it."

Maybe the Lakers' run has already started, as L.A. has won 10 of its past 14 games, providing some positivity to the ongoing soap opera.

The Mavs, meanwhile, have had a nice little run in relative anonymity, going 12-6 since their 13-23 start.

Two proud franchises meet Sunday with ninth place at stake and they've had to make recent progress to make this game that meaningful.

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki described the Lakers as a “perfect situation” for Dwight Howard earlier this season, which isn’t exactly the best way to begin the recruiting pitch in an attempt to bring the NBA’s best big man to Dallas.

Of course, there’s been a ton of drama in Los Angeles since Dirk made that comment while venting frustration and expressing doubt about the Mavericks’ plan to “build around hope.” With the Lakers on the outside of the playoff picture looking in and Howard continuing to butt heads with Kobe Bryant, there’s legitimate reason to believe that Howard will seriously consider leaving $30-plus million on the table and leaving L.A. this summer.

“I guess you never know,” Nowitzki told ESPNDallas.com this week. “That’s up to Dwight. You never know what’s in a player’s mind. I don’t know him. I guess we just have to wait and see how the season ends for them. That’s something that’s out of our control.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens there. They’ve had some issues -- everybody’s following them -- but I still think they’re so talented. I still think they’re going to make a run at it.”

For the sake of discussion, let’s say the Lakers don’t make a run at it. Let’s assume that Howard gets so sick of the prima-donna power struggle with Kobe that he walks this summer.

Can the Mavericks convince Howard that Dallas is the best destination for him? Of the teams that can create enough cap space to sign him, the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets would seem to be the stiffest competition.

PODCAST
Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson joins Galloway & Company to discuss the team's recent trade for Anthony Morrow and push for the playoffs. Listen

The Hawks and Rockets have a key ingredient the Mavs don’t: a franchise cornerstone in his prime who is locked into a long-term deal.

Atlanta’s 26-year-old double-double machine Al Horford could slide over to his natural power forward position and form arguably the NBA’s best 4-5 duo with Howard. Houston’s 23-year-old All-Star shooting guard James Harden and Howard might be the best one-two punch, period, outside of Miami and Oklahoma City.

The Hawks, Howard’s hometown team, also have fellow Atlanta native Lou Williams to provide scoring firepower off the bench for the next two seasons. Atlanta will have enough cap space to sign Howard and make other moves in free agency, perhaps including re-signing point guard Jeff Teague or all-around forward/Howard friend Josh Smith.

PODCAST
The day after the NBA trade deadline, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joins The Ben & Skin Show to talk about the trades made and the Mavericks' future. Listen

The Rockets have a ready-made supporting cast with Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and several recent first-round picks, plus whatever assets they could get if they move productive center Omer Asik.

What do the Mavs have to sell other than the chance to play next to Dirk, a Hall of Famer in decline, and the opportunity to play for an elite coach in Rick Carlisle?

“Same thing we always sell -- that our focus is winning first, second and last, and that we can go out and get whatever assets on the court and off the court that we need to, hopefully in unique ways that other teams can’t match,” Mark Cuban said, speaking in general about a potential summer pitch to a superstar but not specifically Howard.

Deron Williams didn’t take that bait last summer. He opted to move to Brooklyn with the Nets, swayed in large part by the Nets’ trade for Joe Johnson.

Of course, Cuban wasn’t part of the Mavs’ face-to-face pitch to Williams due to his commitment to film a reality show (“freakin’ Shark Tank,” Dirk calls it) on the West Coast. The Mavs’ billionaire boss told his TV producers months ago that he needed his schedule to be clear for the first couple weeks of July this summer.

Nowitzki, who would love nothing more than to pass the face-of-the-franchise baton to another star this summer, is also ready to play a supporting role in the recruiting process.

“If it gets to the point and Mark and Donnie want to fly somewhere, I’m in,” said Nowitzki, whose contract expires, along with Shawn Marion’s, after the 2013-14 season, making the Mavs potentially major players in that summer market as well. “If they need me, I’ll be here.”

The Mavs are really selling Cuban -- “Mark’s commitment to championships,” Donnie Nelson says -- as much as anything else in free agency. If given the chance, they’ll try to convince Howard that they can build a long-term contender around him, just like they did for a dozen years around Dirk.

“You look at what we’ve done over the years in terms of making the best use of our assets, whether they be players, cap space,” Nelson said. “We’ve been blessed and fortunate enough to make two runs to the Finals, and those teams were completely different in a lot of respects.

“You know when you’re playing for Mark Cuban that he’ll do whatever it takes to punch it into the end zone. I think those things are pretty evident. Players know that. They see. They’ve been around. They see what kind of run we’ve had over the past 13 years or whatever.

“This is a place that people want to come.”

This summer would be a perfect time to prove that to be true. It'd take a heck of a recruiting pitch to make it happen with Howard.

DALLAS – Yes, Anthony Morrow and Dwight Howard are good buddies.

PODCAST
Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson joins Galloway & Company to discuss the team's recent trade for Anthony Morrow and push for the playoffs. Listen

No, trading for Morrow does not dramatically improve the Mavericks’ chances of winning the Dwight sweepstakes this summer.

Three’s a simple problem with that storyline: The Mavs will have to renounce Morrow’s Bird rights this summer to have the salary cap space to sign Howard in the first place.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for Morrow and Howard to team up in Dallas. Morrow could return to the Mavs for the midlevel exception or a veteran’s minimum deal. That was a possibility whether or not the Mavs traded for Morrow.

Maybe Morrow loves his two months with the Mavs and talks up the franchise to Howard. That can’t hurt, but Howard already holds Mark Cuban’s Mavs in high esteem, as evidenced by them being featured on his short list of teams he wanted to be traded to when he was plotting his Orlando exit.

But it’s preposterous to think that Howard and Morrow, a shooting specialist playing for his fourth team in five seasons, are some sort of a package deal. If that was the case, the Hawks sure as heck wouldn’t have traded Morrow, considering they plan to try to persuade Howard to return to his hometown this summer.

DALLAS – For all the talk about the Bank of Cuban being open, there were very few players the Mavericks would have considered acquiring if it meant sacrificing salary cap space this summer.

PODCAST
The day after the NBA trade deadline, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joins The Ben & Skin Show to talk about the trades made and the Mavericks' future. Listen

They ended up trading for reserve gunner Anthony Morrow. His career 3-point percentage (42.5) explains why the Mavs were interested in Morrow. The fact that he’ll count $0 against the cap after the Mavs renounce his rights this summer explains why they were willing to trade for him.

It needs to be a big summer for the Bank of Cuban. The Mavs’ front office made sure they’d be positioned to be major players this offseason by not doing anything that would dampen their powder.

“Flexibility has always played well for us,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, perhaps forgetting about whiffing on Deron Williams and scrambling to put together a temporary supporting cast last summer.

PODCAST
Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson joins Galloway & Company to discuss the team's recent trade for Anthony Morrow and push for the playoffs. Listen

“We’ve had the good fortune of making two trips to the Finals, and those were two completely different teams," he said. "They only shared two common players. Flexibility has been an important piece for us. I think as the ceiling comes down a little bit on the new CBA, we’re in a good position to be really active in the market place.”

In other words, the Mavs don’t want to look at this summer as Dwight Howard or doom, although the dramatic big man will definitely be their top target. If the Mavs don’t win the Dwight sweepstakes, they still need to make moves that provide a foundation for the franchise’s future.

That could mean taking advantage of luxury tax-fearing teams desperate to dump salary. That could mean signing quality complementary players at affordable prices, constructing a supporting cast for the star(s) they can chase the following summer when the contracts of Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter expire.

“First of all, you guys make up the plans,” Mark Cuban said. “I tell you we’re going to be opportunistic. I tell you, based off of what we interpret in the CBA, that you can’t just go ahead and sign older players. The guys you do sign, if you make a mistake, it’s expensive to move them. Or you’ve got to give up a lot and not get a lot back.

“From there, we say we’re opportunistic. And that’s what you’ve heard me say every day since we walked in the door. You can’t expect any one thing to happen, because it never does. We have cap room; we’ll see what happens. We’ll try to be opportunistic; we’ll see what happens.”

The Mavs must begin building some continuity again, but they have to balance that goal with leaving enough financial wiggle room to acquire a player capable of being a franchise centerpiece for a contender.

But this can just be another summer of signing guys to one-year deals and acquiring expiring contracts. That wouldn’t play well with the Mavs’ frustrated fan base or with Nowitzki, who has vented repeatedly about the problems that come with so many new, temporary teammates and has made it clear that he doesn’t want to finish his career chasing the final playoff seed in the West.

“We certainly feel for all of our fans and some of the frustrations that have taken place this year,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s them or Dirk or some of the guys in the locker room or ownership on down to management or coaches, we are committed to bringing a championship back to Dallas. Whether it’s the short term or the long term, we’ll make it happen.”

HOUSTON -- Different All-Star city, same mixed messages from Dwight Howard regarding his future.

For a second straight season, Howard's commitment to his team has come under intense scrutiny during All-Star Weekend. And much like in last year's midseason showcase in Orlando, Fla., when he was still with the Magic, Howard shuffled between conflicting statements and left no indication whether he wanted to remain with the Lakers.

Howard confirmed Friday he has received assurances from Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak that he wouldn't be dealt by next week's trade deadline despite his unwillingness to commit to an extension or a new contract after the season.

Asked during Friday's All-Star media session if he'd be shocked if the Lakers traded him in the coming days, Howard said: "Well, they told me they weren't going to trade me. So, yeah, I would be surprised."

Howard spent much of his 30-minute session with reporters trying to deflect questions about his future. But ultimately, he said he wouldn't be pressured by anyone into making a decision about his future before the end of the season.

"The only thing that matters is the present, and right now," Howard said. "There's no need to talk about what's going to happen at the end of the season. No reason to go back and forth about it. I just feel like at the end of the year, I should have my opportunity to make my own decision. I shouldn't be criticized for waiting for the end of the year."

Without some kind of indication from Howard, the Lakers could risk losing the league's best center in free agency this summer without getting key assets in return. Orlando faced the same dilemma this time last season, but ultimately got Howard to waive an early termination contract clause that would have allowed him to enter free agency last summer.

(Read full post)

The odds of the New Orleans Hornets trading shooting guard Eric Gordon before the Feb. 21 deadline are slim.

The odds of the Mavs trading for Gordon before the deadline are much closer to none.

However, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports in an Insider column that the Mavs, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors are among the teams that have inquired about Gordon. In the cases of the Mavs and Rockets – a couple of teams that will have enough cap space to enter the Dwight Howard summer sweepstakes – the inquiries are likely about exploring a potential offseason fallback option.

The Dallas front office must do its due diligence on all potential stars who could be available, but Mark Cuban has made it clear that he considers overpaying a player with a massive contract one of the biggest mistakes the Mavs could make under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Gordon, who reluctantly returned to New Orleans last summer after the Hornets matched an offer sheet he signed with the Phoenix Suns, is due $44.7 million over the next three seasons. That’s a ton of cash for an undersized, oft-injured shooting guard.

Is Gordon worth that kind of money when the Mavs could probably re-sign O.J. Mayo for significantly less?

Maybe the Mavs are infatuated with the upside of the 24-year-old Gordon, who averaged 22.3 points on 45 percent shooting for the Los Angeles Clippers a couple of seasons ago, and believe he’d thrive playing with Dirk Nowitzki in coach Rick Carlisle’s system.

To trade for Gordon, regardless of what it’d take to get him from the Hornets, the Mavs better be completely confident that he’s capable of being the face of the franchise during Dirk’s golden years.

DALLAS – The Bank of Cuban might be open, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t expect it to do any business before the Feb. 21 trade deadline.

PODCAST
A Ben & Skin discussion on the Mavericks' trade possibilities turns into a discussion about why the Mavs need Dwight Howard. Listen

“If you’re asking me if we’re going to trade anybody, I don’t think we’re going to,” Carlisle told reporters after Monday morning’s shootaround. “That’s my opinion. I don’t think we’re going to trade (Shawn) Marion. I don’t think we’re going to trade Vince (Carter). I don’t think we’re going to trade anybody. That’s my opinion.”

Owner Mark Cuban declared last month that there is a “100 percent chance” the Mavs would try to make a deal before the deadline. Armed with a lot of expiring contracts as bait, Cuban made it clear that he’s willing to take back significant salary in the right deal.

However, the right deal would require the Mavs landing a superstar-level talent. That’s the only reason it’d make sense for the Mavs to sacrifice the salary cap space needed to enter the Dwight Howard sweepstakes this summer.

The Mavs are among several teams who have aggressively inquired about DeMarcus Cousins, but the Sacramento Kings have insisted that they don’t plan to deal the enigmatic 22-year-old big man this summer. Atlanta forward Josh Smith is available, but he isn’t a superstar.

The names of Marion and Carter have come up frequently in trade speculation because the veterans could have value to contending teams. A strong case can be made that the Mavs would be wise to jump-start their rebuilding process by flipping Marion and/or Carter for young talent and/or draft picks.

However, the Mavs are determined to make a push for the playoffs, not wanting to let their dozen-year postseason streak die without a fight. The Mavs would need Carter and Marion to play critical roles in that push if it happens.

Plus, it’s difficult to find a contender that could put together an attractive proposal for Marion or Carter.

So it’s probably pretty safe to predict that the Mavs end up standing pat as the deadline passes. But it’s worth noting that Carlisle makes the same prediction every year.