ESPN

Something will be missing among the star power participating in Saturday's 10th edition of the Reebok Heroes Charity Baseball Game at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco.

Dallas Stars sure-fire Hall of Famer Mike Modano, whose charity is a beneficiary of the event, will be there. Cowboys stars DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James will take the field. So will former Cowboys greats Drew Pearson and Everson Walls, as well as a variety of big- and small-screen actors.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and team president Donnie Nelson will also be there. Cuban, however, will leave his glove at home. He's on the shelf, rehabbing a torn rotator cuff (no surgery as of yet). Cuban will stay busy though, hanging in the stands with his newest best friend, the Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy, and posing for pictures with fans.

So what's missing?

How about Cuban's world champs?

For the first time in at least the last five years of the Heroes game, no Dallas Mavericks players will participate. It's not official, but it certainly appears that the reason comes down to one nasty word: lockout.

The NBA forbids team executives and coaches from talking to players during the lockout, which took effect last Thursday night. For that reason, it appears, no Mavs players are on the roster with Cuban and Nelson out there (and possibly a David Stern spy drone flying overhead).

Last year, Jason Kidd played. James Singleton represented in 2009 with Jason Terry doing the honors in 2008 and Devin Harris in 2007. In 2006, Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Marquis Daniels all hit the diamond.

Would the NBA really frown on Mavs players mingling with team brass at such a fan-friendly charity event? Well, it's hard to say. An NBA spokesman said he didn't know enough about the event to make a call. He did, however, mention that there are exceptions. For instance, Cuban and the Mavs will be together for the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

Miami Heat coaches were given the green light to attend Chris Bosh's wedding.

It would seem Cuban, Nelson and any Mavs players could play ball for charity without violating any lockout codes of silence.

But then, sillier things have happened.

So if you're headed to the game, congratulate Nelson on all his right roster moves, applaud Cuban for his postseason composure and encourage him to fight through his rotator cuff rehab. Take a picture with the trophy.

But barring a last-minute change, don't expect to get a glimpse of the world champs.

Ike Diogu starred at Garland (Texas) High School, left for Arizona State and has kicked around the NBA, finding limited opportunities on five teams in five seasons. At 6-foot-9, 250 pounds, Diogu is a power forward who feels as though he's ready to break through.

"I feel I've improved really in everything from understanding the game, knowing when to go, when to pass, when to be aggressive," said Diogu, an unrestricted free agent. "Things that come with paying your dues and I have paid my dues. I am ready to take off."

Could his hometown Dallas Mavericks, who do not have a power forward on the roster after Dirk Nowitzki, be a player for Diogu?

"It's definitely something I'd be interested in looking at doing," Diogu said. However, Diogu said he believes he will return to the New Orleans Hornets. Diogu signed as a free agent with the Hornets last summer, but he suffered an early, season-ending injury to his left knee that required microfracture surgery.

Buried on the depth charts at his previous stops, Diogu, the former ninth overall pick by Golden State in 2005, comes with a cheap price tag (the veteran's minimum), but added risk as he works his way back from the difficult procedure. But, Diogu thinks his limited playing time in past situations might actually serve him well post-surgery and as he heads optimistically into a sixth NBA season.

"If you look at the amount of games I've played, I haven't played that much," Diogu said. "There's not a lot of mileage there. The best is definitely still to come."

As for the Hornets, the obvious question for Diogu is about the future of point guard Chris Paul, who reportedly is seeking an exit strategy out of New Orleans. Diogu said he hasn't talked to the All-Star.

"I always look at things as it's a business," Diogu said. "People tell you certain things and you expect them to honor that. He wants them to put more pieces around him."

As for the Mavs, if Diogu is headed back to New Orleans, what free agents remain that can fill a void at backup power forward? As of today, the Mavs plan to use small forward Shawn Marion and center Tyson Chandler to log minutes behind Nowitzki.

Dallas has two roster spots available and its full mid-level exception to spend. With no players still available that would command the full, $5.8-million MLE, the Mavs can use as little or as much of the MLE as they like on one or multiple players. The list of available power forwards is not long or particularly attractive. And, of course, the Mavs don't have to use the MLE at all.

Here's nine more PFs still on the market:

Anthony Tolliver, Golden State
Louis Amundson, Phoenix
James Singleton, Washington
Joe Smith, Atlanta
Malik Allen, Denver
Brian Skinner, L.A. Clippers
Brian Cardinal, Minnesota
Sean Marks, New Orleans
Sean May, Sacramento

Tenth in a series chronicling the Dallas Mavericks' streak of 10 seasons with 50 or more wins (previous installments).

As the regular season wound down, Dirk Nowitzki was confident his team was built for the playoffs. He was ready to roll in the postseason, looking for his first long playoff run since the 2006 NBA Finals.

Once again, owner Mark Cuban opened his wallet in making moves that he believed would help the franchise get back into the thick of Western Conference contention. Dallas finally traded Josh Howard to Washington and in return received scorer Caron Butler, an agile big man with good hands in Brendan Haywood and an extra defender in DeShawn Stevenson. With the addition of Shawn Marion in the offseason, even the pundits couldn't help but notice the size, strength and toughness of this revameped roster.

Through some wild swings throughout the 82-game regular season, it was the Mavs who outlasted Utah, Denver and Phoenix for the No. 2 seed, and after a big win over the Los Angeles Lakers during a 13-game win streak following the blockbuster trade, the Mavs themselves were buying into the hype -- and the growing expectations.

Nowitzki, who had another outstanding regular season, avergaging 25.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, said this team had more talent than any he played on in his dozen seasons in Dallas. Jason Kidd, who had played in two NBA Finals with the New Jersey Nets, said this was one of the best teams he's played on.

Yet, somehow, it all came crashing down in a familiar postseason letdown.

The Spurs, led by the Big Three plus the emergence of George Hill and revolving role players, made big shot after big shot and defensively suffocated Kidd, who struggled to get the Mavs on the run. With a stagnant halfcourt offense, Dallas failed to score more than 90 points in four of the six games, leaving more questions than answers about the club moving forward.

No one, not in this season, expected the Mavs to be licking their wounds again before the calendar turned to May.

Coach: Rick Carlisle
Record: 55-27 (1st in Southwest)
Playoffs: Lost to San Antonio (4-2)
Team payroll: $88.9 million*
Highest-paid player: Dirk Nowitzki ($19.8 million)*

Offseason transactions: Traded 21st overall draft pick C B.J. Mullens to Oklahoma City for 24th draft pick G Rodrigue Beaubois and a future second-round pick; in four team deal, traded F/G Devean George and G Antoine Wright to Toronto, and G/F Jerry Stackhouse plus a future second-round pick to Memphis for F Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries and Nathan Jawai (from Toronto), plus Greg Buckner (from Memphis, later released); signed G Quinton Ross (free agent); signed F Drew Gooden (free agent); signed F Tim Thomas (free agent); signed F Kris Humphries (free agent);

In-season transaction: Jan. 11, 2010: Traded Kris Humprhies and Shawne Williams to New Jersey for Eduardo Najera; Feb. 13, 2010: Traded Josh Howard, Quinton Ross, James Singleton and Drew Gooden to Washington for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

The high: Following the big trade that finally rid the club of Josh Howard, the Mavs played like a team in which a heavy weight had been lifted. The club rolled off a season-best 13 consecutive wins, the longest streak since the 2006-07 season. Victories included Phoenix, Atlanta, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers, fueling the club with optimism that it had the ingredients to conted for the Western Conference crown. Dirk Nowitzki added to his illustrous career by becoming just the 34th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points against the Lakers on Jan. 13. On Nov. 25, Jason Kidd notched his 10,335th career assist to move into second place on the NBA's all-time list. On the final night of the regular-season, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rested his starters and the Mavs secured the West's No. 2 seed, their highest seed since claiming No. 1 in 2006-07.

The low: San Antonio 4, Dallas 2. Sure, the Spurs were not your typical No. 7 seed, but so what? The Mavs lost the home-court advantage by losing in Game 2 and then dropped two in a row at San Antonio to go down 3-1. The Mavs melted down in the third quarter of Game 4 and then in the do-or-die Game 6 they opened the first quarter with eight points. Despite taking the lead briefly in the third quarter, Dallas suffered its third first-round defeat of the last four seasons. This one particularly stung because of the big trade that had Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd calling this club one of the best either had ever played on.

The roster:
F Dirk Nowitzki (25.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 48.1% FG)
G Jason Terry (16.6 ppg, 43.8% FG)
G/F Caron Butler (15.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 44.0% FG in 27 games)
G/F Josh Howard (12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg in 31 games)
F Shawn Marion (12.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 50.8% FG)
G Jason Kidd (10.3 ppg, 9.1 apg, 5.6 rpg)
F Drew Gooden (8.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg in 46 games)
C Brendan Haywood (8.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg in 28 games)
G J.J. Barea (7.6 ppg, 3.3 apg, 19.8 mpg)
F Tim Thomas (7.5 ppg in 18 games)
G Rodrigue Beaubois (7.1 ppg, 51.8% FG in 56 games)
C Erick Dampier (6.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
F Kris Humprhies (5.2 ppg in 25 games)
F Eduardo Najera (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg in 33 games)
F James Singleton (2.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg in 25 games)
G Quinton Ross (2.0 ppg in 27 games)
G DeShawn Stevenson (2.0 ppg in 24 games)
G Matt Carroll (1.8 ppg in 25 games)

*Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Ninth in a series chronicling the Dallas Mavericks' streak of 10 seasons with 50 or more wins (previous installments).

Avery Johnson was out, and owner Mark Cuban told reporters during the club's media day that a handful of players came to him and told him they wanted to play elsewhere if the head-strong Johnson was coming back.

Cuban wasted little time in hiring the quirky, yet successful Rick Carlisle, who had taken the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals in rather short order. Carlisle was the Mavs' lone candidate granted an interview.

Known more for a structured offensive philosophy and a strong defensive disposition, Carlisle came in with the directive to allow Jason Kidd, in his first full season back in Dallas, to do his thing. Yet, things didn't get off to a rousing start as the Mavs dropped seven of their first nine and seemed headed for an early internal showdown before Dirk Nowitzki had a huge fourth quarter and overtime for a come-from-behind win at New York to avoid a 2-8 start.

Dallas would become the first team in the NBA to start 2-7 and go on to post 50 wins. But, make no mistake, it was a struggle. The Mavs never won more than five in a row and that streak started with the early-season rally against the lowly Knicks.

Jerry Stackhouse played just 10 games due to a mixture of injury, overall conditioning and attitude. Josh Howard, coming off his dubious end to the 2007-08 season and the ensuing summer, played just 52 games due to a wrist injury, but mostly a sprained ankle that wouldn't go away.

Nowitzki put up MVP-type numbers for a team that had to have him go for big numbers every night just to have a chance to win. When Howard didn't play, which was often, the Mavs were the only team in the NBA that featured just two players averaging double-digit scoring. Even with Howard in the lineup, the Mavs never knew when a fourth scorer might emerge.

Still, the Mavs managed to snap a two-year skid of first-round defeats, dusting off a beat-up San Antonio team that was without Manu Ginobili. But, Dallas was no match for the Denver Nuggets in the second round, losing 4-1.

Coach: Rick Carlisle
Record: 50-32 (3rd, Southwest)
Playoffs: Defeated San Antonio (4-1); lost to Denver (4-1)
Team payroll: $95.05 million*
Highest-paid player: Jason Kidd ($21.4 million)*

Offseason transactions: Signed C DeSagana Diop (free agent); signed G Gerald Green (free agent); signed F James Singleton; traded G/F Eddie Jones, a 2009 second-round draft pick (A.J. Price) and a future 2nd round draft pick to Indiana for F Shawne Williams.

In-season transaction: Jan. 16, 2009: Traded C DeSagana Diop to Charlotte for C Ryan Hollins and G Matt Carroll.

The high: With Jerry Stackhouse out of the picture early on, Jason Terry gladly accepted the sixth-man role and thrived, averaging 19.6 points, his best as a Maverick. It earned him the league's Sixth Man of the Year award. Terry and Dirk Nowitzki made up the third-highest scoring duo in the NBA at 45.5 points.

The low: It's doubtful it would have changed the outcome of the second-round series against Denver, but the non-call as Antoine Wright tried to wrap up -- but more like flailed at -- Carmelo Anthony, who then buried a 3-pointer at the end of Game 3, goes down as another one of those "what-if" playoff moments for the Mavs. In the offseason, rather than use their mid-level exception to try to sign a much-needed scorer, the Mavs overpaid to bring back DeSagana Diop. His production was so poor that the Mavs traded him midseason to Charlotte for center Ryan Hollins and guard Matt Carroll. Hollins is no longer on the team and Carroll never plays. The Jerry Stackhouse situation was unfortunate. One of the team's prouder players and a key cog in getting the franchise to its first NBA Finals had a foot issue, but as the season wore on either Stackhouse or the organization decided to shut him down. The facts there are still fuzzy, but Stackhouse's days as a Mav were over.

The roster:
F Dirk Nowitzki (25.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
G Jason Terry (19.6 ppg, 3.4 apg)
F/G Josh Howard (18.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg in 52 games)
G Jason Kidd (9.0 ppg, 8.7 apg)
F Brandon Bass (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
G J.J. Barea (7.8 ppg, 3.4 apg, 20.3 mpg)
G Antoine Wright (7.3 ppg, 23.9 mpg)
C Erick Dampier (5.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
F/G Gerald Green (5.7 ppg in 38 games)
F James Singleton (5.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
G/F Jerry Stackhouse (played in 10 games)
G/F Devean George (3.4 ppg, in 43 games)
C Ryan Hollins (2.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg in 27 games)
G Matt Carroll (1.2 ppg in 21 games)
F Shawne Williams (played in 15 games)
C DeSagana Diop (1.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg in 34 games)

*Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Ex-Mav Jim Jackson played for an NBA-record 12 teams and shares that distinction with Chucky Brown and Tony Massenburg.

Drew Gooden has played for nine teams in eight seasons and sees the inevitable.

"I'm on my way to breaking that record," Gooden said with a laugh Tuesday night. "I'm on my ninth team now, and I'm a free agent this summer."

Gooden had just delivered his best individual performance of the season -- 26 points and 20 rebounds -- in the Los Angeles Clippers' 106-96 loss to the Mavericks, slamming home precisely why Dallas was so hopeful of re-signing him after Gooden was packaged with Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington in the Feb. 13 trade that netted Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

Had the Wizards reached a buyout with the veteran power forward, as they later did with Zydrunas Ilgauskas after acquiring Big Z from Cleveland in the Antawn Jamison deal, Gooden would almost certainly be back with a previous employer for the first time in his career. As he said many times before and after Tuesday's homecoming game at American Airlines Center, Gooden never wanted to leave Dallas and still hopes that the Mavs will consider re-signing him this summer.

The Wizards, though, didn't buy Gooden out. Instead they routed him to the Clippers as part of the three-way Jamison swap before the league's Feb. 18 trading deadline. And there would be no buyout in L.A. because the Clips, looking to bolster a front line weakened by rookie Blake Griffin's season-ending knee injury and the trade of Marcus Camby to Portland, told Gooden immediately that they needed to keep him for the rest of the season.

"It wasn't as easy it was last year for me with Sacramento," Gooden said, recalling how the Kings quickly bought out his contract after acquiring Gooden from Chicago at the deadline, enabling Gooden to sign with San Antonio for the stretch run.

"I think everybody knew that once I got a buyout that I would want to go back to Dallas and help [the Mavs] out even more. I think there [were] teams that didn't want Dallas to have their cake and eat it, too.

"I miss Dallas. I miss those guys over there. I committed myself to this team and left something on the table that was unfinished business for me. But that's the business."

The solace for Gooden is that his play with the Clippers isn't exactly discouraging the Mavs -- or prospective team No. 10 -- from keeping the 28-year-old in their offseason thoughts. Gooden is averaging a healthy 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in 16 games with the Clippers, which would represent the highest averages of his career in both categories if sustained for a full season.

"I've got to make sure I don't take for granted the opportunity I have now," Gooden said. "Even though, let's face it, we're not going to be a playoff team this year, I'm getting an opportunity to play and I'm going to do well.

"I do feel like I'm playing my best [basketball]. Maybe I don't jump as high as I used to, but my mental game is so much stronger than when I first got into the league. Even though I've been on a lot of teams, playing a lot of different roles, I've gotten better within those roles."

Asked if the Mavs miss Gooden's contributions off the bench, Dirk Nowitzki said: "Hell, yeah."

Oklahoma City's Kevin Ollie -- another Mavs alumnus -- has played for 11 teams, so Gooden isn't even No. 1 among active NBA vagabonds. The people who track such matters at the Elias Sports Bureau, furthermore, say Gooden doesn't get credit for making a stop in Washington because, even though he was issued a No. 90 jersey from the Wizards, he never played in a game for them.

Ollie, though, is 37. He's running out of time to get to 12 teams.

Gooden is nearly a decade younger and has only enhanced his reputation this season as a player who can produce when he starts and serve as the offensive focal point for a second unit. Playing for 13 teams certainly seems within reach, which isn't a prospect that insults Gooden.

"I was a victim of basketball [business]," Gooden said of the deal swung by the Mavs to get Butler and Haywood, which materialized about a month after Gooden and his partially guaranteed one-year contract in Dallas at $4.5 million was offered to Utah in an attempt to swipe Carlos Boozer from the Jazz.

"I was never locked into a long-term deal," Gooden continued. "I was always a guy that was talked about at every trade deadline, no matter if I was playing well or not. But there's been nothing bad about what happened for me, playing on a lot of different teams."

He was quickly schooled on the business of basketball as a rookie, when Memphis -- after taking Gooden with the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft -- traded him to Orlando before his first season was finished.

"That was a situation that I kind of liked [being traded]," Gooden said. "All the other times that I got traded, I didn't want to get traded. But it wasn't the right situation for me in Memphis. I was playing small forward and I felt like I was more of a power forward playing out of position."

Gooden's selection by then-Grizzlies president Jerry West in West's first draft in Memphis is one of the few second-guessed picks of West's storied front-office career, since the Grizz already had Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift on the roster.

"I didn't think I was going to have that Memphis hat on long that night that I got drafted," Gooden said. "But Jerry West always said he was going to take the best player available."

Marc Stein covers the NBA for ESPN.com and is a frequent contributor to ESPNDallas.com.

DALLAS -- The seven-player deal with the Washington Wizards, which is official, represents a major win for the Dallas Mavericks.

This was a classic Mark Cuban trade. The Mavs took advantage of a team looking to cut costs. And Cuban didn't even have to pay a ridiculous price in the process.

DeShawn Stevenson's $4.1 million player option for next season is the price the Mavs had to pay to make significant upgrades at two positions. The financial sting was lessened when the Wizards accepted Quinton Ross ($1.14 million) as part of the return. (James Singleton is the other throw-in headed to Washington.)

Caron Butler is simply a better all-around player than Josh Howard. Butler is a better scorer. He's a better rebounder. He's a better fit for the Mavs because of his ability to create off the dribble.

Brendan Haywood fills a major void as a shot-blocking, board-crashing big man, especially with Erick Dampier dealing with knee problems. Drew Gooden provided some scoring punch, but he was a power forward pretending to be a center, something that was painfully obvious from watching the Mavs' defensive misery the last month.

Butler, whose career numbers suggest he could be an excellent second scoring option despite his struggles this season, is on the books one more season at $10.8 million. Swapping him for Howard doesn't limit the Mavs' potential to be sign-and-trade players this summer.

Haywood is a $6 million expiring contract, but he could be the most important long-term piece in this trade. The Mavs definitely wouldn't have pulled the trigger without him included. The summer search for a long-term starting center at least has a Plan A now that the Mavs own Haywood's Bird rights.

Does this deal make the Mavs legitimate challengers to the Los Angeles Lakers? Doubtful, despite Kobe Bryant's gushing about the trade Saturday morning.

Does it make the Mavs significantly better? Absolutely.

DALLAS -- Would acquiring Caron Butler makes the Dallas Mavericks much better?

That's a subject being discussed by the Mavs brass as they engage in talks with the Washington Wizards.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein lays out the framework of the potential deal in the Weekend Dime: Josh Howard and another player (such as James Singleton or Quinton Ross) for Butler and DeShawn Stevenson.

It'd pain Mark Cuban to take Stevenson, a player who probably wouldn't crack the Mavs' rotation but would be a fool not to exercise his player option for more than $4 million next season. And the Mavs' decision-makers have mixed feelings about Butler, who didn't help matters by breaking a play with the game on the line in Washington's recent loss to Dallas.

In many regards, Butler is a lot like Howard without the relatively recent off-court drama. They're both 29-year-old small forwards with durability issues whose offensive numbers this season are way down from their career norm.

Butler is a much better rebounder than Howard, but he'd likely have the same problems fitting in the Mavs' mix with Shawn Marion entrenched as the starting 3.

Then again, maybe Butler would benefit from a fresh start after escaping the insanity in Washington.

If Butler doesn't work out, he'd at least be a decent sign-and-trade chip for the Mavs. He is due $10.8 million next season, the last year of his contract. (Howard's contract status -- team option for $11.8 million next season -- is one argument for keeping him because of his value in potential sign-and-trade deals.)

A Howard/Butler deal, with other pieces thrown in, won't make the Mavs any worse. But is it the best the Mavs can do? And is it worth the cost to Cuban?

The Mavs brass has less than two weeks to answer those questions.

We’re officially three weeks until the NBA trade deadline and every team will diligently investigate ways to improve their situation by February 18^th whether they’re “actively shopping” any of their players or not.

It’s a daily operation. It’s also wildly fascinating for us outsiders to track and speculate about that NBA constant. It’s a little something our ESPN homeboy Marc Stein likes to call “The Transaction Game.”

It was at this time last week when Stein wrote about Dallas’ apparent interest in Sacramento’s Kevin Martin, with Josh Howard and his potentially expiring contract (the club holds an $11.8 million dollar option for the 10-11 season) as the foundation of the offer. Most folks closely tied to those beats, including Stein, don’t think such a deal would actually go down as Sacramento is not likely to part with a guy who can fill it up for mere salary cap relief.

But that’s why the Howard situation is very intriguing when it comes to trade scenarios. This guy is 29 years old and a former All-Star. Isn’t his value to a team more than just “financial relief?” My speculation would be that at his current level of play, Howard is simply not worth the money he’d be owed next season.

He’s still a valuable player for a really good team, and has at times this season been a huge contributor to some really big wins. But the Mavericks need a consistent Howard of two seasons ago. Not a 12 point/3.5 board guy shooting below 40 percent. That kind of play nets you John Salmons money on the open market. Or around half of what Howard is scheduled to make if the club picks up the option in the summer.

So the dilemma, based on the current economic climate of the NBA and other trades that have gone down in the last couple of years, would be that his value as an expiring contract has exceeded his value as a player simply because of the amount of money he’s making. Again, if Josh is making half that, you’re ecstatic to have him as a rotation player even at his current production-level.

But sadly, that’s no longer a reality. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that Josh will revert back to his old self in terms of consistently high production. And that means his trade value couldn’t possibly get any higher than the next three weeks.

If a team acquired him now, he’d have a fresh start and two months to show that he was worthy of coming back and playing out another “contract season” in 10-11 at the $11.8 salary number – something that is highly unlikely to happen here based on what we’ve seen thus far.

Even if his new team didn’t pick up the option for next season, they’d still maintain his Bird rights and could easily do a sign-and-trade deal similar to how the Mavericks acquired Shawn Marion this off-season. Marion received a starting salary a little above the Mid-level Trade Exception amount. I’d imagine that’s what an unrestricted Josh Howard would be looking at this summer.

Then there’s the popular idea that Dallas will keep Howard, presumably pick up his option, and then package him along with Erick Dampier's non-guaranteed contract, picks, cash and maybe even Roddy Beaubois for a blockbuster deal in which Dallas takes back around $25 million of game-changing super-stardom. Then said team simply cuts Damp and is not beholden to his $13 million of '10-11 salary.

But there’s a rub there. No matter what the wild example you come up with to package those guys to get a LeBron James, Chris Bosh or Joe Johnson plus one of that team’s bad contracts, that team will still be paying Howard $11.8 million next year. That’s a tough pill to swallow when you combine it with shipping off your franchise player.

Wild example: Howard, Dampier and Roddy B for LeBron James, Delonte West and Boobie Gibson’s bad contract. Now ask yourself, why exactly do the Cavs want to pay Josh almost $12 million next year to accommodate James? Wouldn’t they just be better off shipping Lebron and Boobie for say Damp, Eduardo Najera (assuming the Mavs don’t waive him before July 1 for around $1 million in savings), Roddy B, picks and cash? They save way more money, actually have way more cap room and still get the only assets they’d truly want out of that deal. If they even wanted Howard they could probably use their cap space to sign him for $6.5 million a year and still have space left over.

Maybe I’m too far out of the loop to get it. Maybe teams can’t wait to get their hands on next year’s expiring contracts this upcoming summer. But I’d imagine that if any of those wildly fantastical scenarios do present themselves this summer, I don’t see Howard being as big an asset to get the deal done as people are suggesting.

You could convince me that package will help you get Bosh and Jose Calderon done, if that opportunity did in fact present itself. But that seems like an extremely specific reason to pick up Howard’s salary for next season. And Joe Johnson? Atlanta doesn’t even have any really bad contracts unless you think the $30 million owed Marvin Williams over the next four seasons is awful enough to take on Howard at almost twice the money for next year.

As Stein astutely pointed out on our hour-long trade roundtable on GameNight last week, the most likely target for the “Dampier” deal probably hasn’t even materialized yet. And that means enjoying the waiting game. Perhaps “enjoy’ is the wrong word.

So let’s go further off the deep end, shall we? Here’s a scenario using widely published salary numbers that we believe to be right in which trading Howard now has absolutely zero impact on whatever your fantasy miracle acquisitions would be this summer. Larry Coon’s tweet that, “Even with Arenas' suspension, Wiz are over tax threshold by $5.07 mil,” got my trade checker heated up in a big way.

Let’s say the speculation about Washington moving any and everybody for the right price is actually true. The reality is we don’t know what Ernie Grunfeld is thinking, but that ruins this portion of the column so let’s ignore all that, aiight?

Would Dallas be willing to add another $10 million to this year’s bottom line in order to swap Howard for Caron Butler - two guys with very similar contracts in amount and length who have both seen better days and could both use fresh starts?

Just workshoppin’ it here, but do you think either team would be down for swapping Howard, Drew Gooden and James Singleton for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson? Then in a separate deal Dallas acquires Fabricio Oberto for the trade exception they received in their deal with Jersey a few weeks back.

Dallas would hate to give up Gooden because he’s been a high energy guy off the bench and a great spot starter whenever Damp can't go. He also has a vastly different game to Damp’s, especially offensively. But Haywood has been very productive in this contract season so they’d get a valuable post player back, even if his game approximates Damp’s as opposed to complements it.

Singleton could shoot the deal down, as he’s in the same Early Bird situation that Devean George was in when he torpedoed the original Jason Kidd deal a few years back. But my dealings with him make me think he just wants to be in a situation where he could get some burn and he’s probably well-aware that he’d be better served to go with the flow on this one. Consider adding Stevenson and Oberto the price of doing business.

This move would be about getting Butler who is currently playing at a substantially higher level than Howard and has a virtually lateral contract with one year remaining at $10.8 million next season. He’s a solid defender and a good passer and the dude gets to the line. There’s also very few summer trade scenarios you could concoct that would involve Howard that you couldn’t just substitute Butler for and make work the same way. In this trade, Dallas acquires nothing but good defenders as well.

Why would Washington even consider making this deal? Because the difference in salary for this season once you swap all those players is approximately $5.5 million. And due to the Arenas suspension, that’d be enough to put them under the luxury tax threshold for this season and net them an additional $5 million rebate for being under. A $10 million swing for a team racing to the John Wall sweepstakes is eye-opening.

It would also shave around $14 million off next season’s payroll (assuming they don’t pick up Howard’s option) and put them in the $40 million range depending on where their draft pick is and which of their free agents they renounce the rights to. That’s about where Oklahoma City and Minnesota will be and that gives them plenty of room to partake in the free agent game this summer.

It would be a radical and expensive move for a Mavericks team currently in the top three in the West to make. But it would also likely jolt a team that is often searching for a spark and charge up an antsy fan base that senses that despite the nice record, something is amiss here.

I mean this with all sincerity; I think it’d be a great move for Josh. He needs a change of scenery. He is way better than he’s playing this year. I’m not going to speculate as to why he’s not reaching his potential here, I just know that he’s not. I know the guy and I know his game. I want him to be one of the main guys for this team. But I'd be lying if I said I felt like he was a big time contributor.

I also know this team and I feel like it needs some degree of change. I feel like if that change was going to come from within the current roster, it would have already happened by now. You can argue that maybe it could be Roddy - as Jet has recently done - and I’d buy it to some degree. But I’m not the kind to pin my hopes on a late first-round pick in his rookie season and first year living in a new country.

So when you look at all the likely game-changing trade options, it comes back to Howard’s contract status versus his current level of play. A status that changes significantly after February 18. And if the Mavericks are inclined to try and charge this team for a stretch run, then that’s most likely where it’s at ...

DALLAS -- The Toronto Raptors, with their sweet-shooting, athletic big men, are the type of team the Dallas Mavericks had in mind when they signed Drew Gooden to play center.

Too bad Gooden isn't ready to play. He's nursing a rib cage injury and hopes to return Tuesday against the Houston Rockets.

The Mavericks will have to figure out a way to slow down Lincoln High product Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani without their preferred small-ball big man. Bosh and Bargnani, who combined to average 51.5 points in the Raptors' first four games, are both comfortable bombing away from the perimeter and putting the ball on the floor.

That makes them quite a difficult matchup for traditional center Erick Dampier.

"I'm just going to foul them every time and not give them any shots," Dampier said with a laugh. "We've got enough guys on this team that we can foul everybody out."

Actually, the Mavs might not have enough guys to execute Dampier's strategy. Gooden and Tim Thomas, who will miss at least another week while rehabbing from knee surgery, were signed to split center minutes with Dampier. They'll both be wearing sportcoats on the Mavs' bench Saturday night.

Dirk Nowitzki will match up with one of Toronto's bigs, which means he'll have to expend a lot of energy on the defensive end. Kris Humphries, James Singleton and Shawn Marion are the candidates to spell Dampier and Nowitzki.

"It's an awareness thing," coach Rick Carlisle said. "If you're a big guarding those guys, you have to be ready to close out away from the basket and be ready to move your feet when they put it on the floor. It's tough. It's one of the tougher matchups in the league because they both shoot the ball so well and both drive the ball so well."

Dampier, a savvy veteran, understands his limitations. He knows it's virtually impossible for him to challenge the Raptors big men's shots and keep in front of them when they try to drive. He'll rely on his teammates to help make up for the mismatch.

"I'm just going to try to contest their shot and make them drive to where the defense is and the guys will help me out," Dampier said. "It's a team effort. We're not going to leave anybody out there one-on-one on a boat by themselves. We're going to get together and help each other out."

Minutes could be hard to come by for reserve power forward/centers James Singleton and Kris Humphries.

The Mavericks have a perennial All-Star power forward in Dirk Nowitzki. When Dirk isn't on the floor, Shawn Marion will get most of the minutes at that spot.

Drew Gooden enters camp as the favorite to start at center, which means Erick Dampier probably moves to the bench. But Dampier will play heavy minutes against the elite back-to-the-basket scorers. Once he's recovered from minor knee surgery, Tim Thomas will likely carve out a niche in the rotation because of his perimeter shooting ability.

However, Rick Carlisle won't hesitate to call on the 6-8, 240-pound Singleton or 6-9, 235-pound Humphries if the coach thinks the Mavs needed a defensive-minded dirty-work guy on the floor.

Carlisle calls Singleton "one of those ultimate role players," raving about the veteran's rugged play, unselfishness and effort in practice.

He sees the same qualities in Humphries, who has averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in five seasons. Carlisle also pointed out that Humphries, the 14th overall pick in the 2004 draft, is only 24 years old and still developing.

"He's a guy that nobody's talking about that has quietly made a very good impression," Carlisle said.