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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.

A fistful of statistical dribbles to set up the Mavericks home date with Denver on Friday night:

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss the Mavericks playing after being eliminated from playoff contention, who he wants to keep for next season and much more. Listen

As badly as he was hoping to shave late Wednesday night -- only to be foiled by what he described as a “terrible, terrible” loss to Phoenix -- Dirk Nowitzki is playing for something else Friday night: He’s 32 points shy of 25,000 for his career. When he gets there, Dirk will be the 17th member of the 25,000-point club.

Denver has officially supplanted the Mavs as the team with the league's second-longest active playoff streak. This season marks the Nuggets’ 10th straight in the postseason, behind only San Antonio’s 16 in a row.

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The Nuggets, however, have only advanced past the first round once in those previous nine trips to the playoffs. In 2009, Denver made it to the Western Conference finals, beating Dallas in five games in the second round along with way.

Denver arrives in town having become just the second team in history to sweep all three teams from Texas on the same homestand. Phoenix did it in November 2000, and the Nuggets beat Dallas, Houston and San Antonio -- in that order -- earlier this month.

Denver’s JaVale McGee shoots 50.5 percent from the field at home and a whopping 62.6 percent on the road. That’s the league’s biggest such discrepancy, with Mavs alumnus Jason Terry suffering from the opposite sort of gap at 48.7 percent from the field at home in Boston and 37.7 percent on the road.

First in a series looking at the five teams ahead of the Dallas Mavericks in our early 2012-13 Western Conference rankings and how the revamped Mavs match up.

No. 5 Denver Nuggets

George Karl's group plays it fast and loose and likes to have fun -- and Karl is having more fun ever since the exits of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. The Nuggets showed it in a steamroller performance on Dec. 26, the second game of the season, with a 115-93 whiplashing of the Mavs. Of course, the Nuggets weren't as good as that game might have suggested and the Mavs weren't as bad. Dallas took the next three meetings with both teams missing various key players in each game. Much has changed since their last meeting on March 19 starting with center JaVale McGee's arrival and Nene's departure a few days earlier -- although the sometimes comically erratic McGee didn't play in that series finale against Dallas -- as both squads bring new looks into the 2012-13 season.

Last season's results (Mavs won 3-1)
Nuggets 115, @Mavs 93
Mavs 105, @Nuggets 95
@Mavs 102, Nuggets 84
Mavs 112, @Nuggets 95

This season's games
Dec. 28: @Nuggets
April 4: vs. Nuggets
April 12: vs. Nuggets

What's changed?
The Nuggets had a deep roster dotted with impressive players last season, but boasted not an All-Star among them. That changed last week with the four-team blockbuster Dwight Howard deal that sent longtime 76ers wing Andre Iguodala to Denver with the Nuggets sending shooting guard Arron Afflalo and reserve forward Al Harrington to Orlando. Iguodala, a 2012 All-Star and member of gold-medal winning Team USA, will share the backcourt with speedster point guard Ty Lawson and he'll bring a missing defensive mentality that can only help the league's top scoring team last season that finished 29th in scoring defense. A long and versatile frontcourt includes Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried and the 7-foot McGee. Denver also made a nice pickup with 6-11 Dallas native Anthony Randolph to add to a solid bench that includes ever-steady point guard Andre Miller, Chandler -- if Karl chooses to make him the sixth man -- Corey Brewer and a couple of 7-footers in Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos.

How the Mavs match up
New Mavs point guard Darren Collison, a 6-foot, 180-pound blur, certainly gives the Mavs more backcourt speed than ever before to stick with the shifty 5-foot-11 Lawson. That should come as music to the ears of small forward Shawn Marion, who too many times last season was asked to take the opposing point guard because Jason Kidd and Vince Carter simply couldn't. Marion won't be singing long now that Iguodala gives the Nuggets a formidable trio at the wing with Gallinari and Chandler now potentially popping off the bench. This type of squad could be a situation in which Mavs rookie forward Jae Crowder becomes a valuable addition as a strong, 6-6 wing defender to assist Marion. Shooting guard Dahntay Jones also gives Dallas another defensive option on the perimeter it didn't have last season. Iguodala really helps the Nuggets' defensive situation. Against the Mavs he'll be able to stick O.J. Mayo, who the Mavs hope will emerge as the second scorer behind Dirk Nowitzki. Denver still has no answer for Dirk, not that many teams do. Last season against the Nuggets, Nowitzki averaged 22.5 points in 29.3 minutes and shot 53.8 percent from the floor, well above his season average of 45.7 percent.

Let’s take a glass-half-full view of the Mavs’ offseason. That means we’ll assume that they’ll succeed in recruiting Deron Williams to come home but won’t be able to persuade the Orlando Magic to take an inferior package to ship Dwight Howard to Dallas.

If the amnesty clause is used on Brendan Haywood to create cap space as expected, how would the Mavs fill their huge hole in the middle?

They could just re-sign free agent Ian Mahinmi and pair him with Brandan Wright, but it’s hard to see the Mavs emerging as a legitimate contender without more of a presence at center. There are plenty of options in the free agent market.

A look at the most attractive available big men:

Roy Hibbert (restricted): The 7-foot-2, 260-pound Hibbert has great size and good skills. He’s only 25, so there is still room to grow in his game after he averaged 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season. He’d be by far the best low-post threat ever to be paired with Dirk Nowitzki. But the Pacers have the right to match any offer he gets, a ton of cap space and executive of the year Larry Bird calling the shots. If the Mavs get Hibbert, it probably means they’ve significantly overpaid another big man.

Kevin Garnett: The 36-year-old KG sure looks like he has a lot left in the tank during these playoffs. His regular-season minutes must be managed, but Garnett is still a major defensive force and good scorer and rebounder. He’ll take a pay cut after making $21 million this season and almost $300 million in his career, but Garnett won’t come cheap. It’s hard to see the Celtics letting him go when they have a chance to contend.

Omer Asik (restricted): Asik, the Turkish product who turns 26 on July 4, is a dominant defender, a 7-footer who can protect the rim and disrupt pick-and-rolls. He’s a very good rebounder. And he’s an awful offensive player with hands that make Haywood’s look good in comparison. Could that change with the Mavs coaching staff dedicating time to work with him? He’s also a restricted free agent, but the Bulls are already in luxury tax land and might not match a decent offer for Joakim Noah’s backup.

Marcus Camby: He’s 38 years old and doesn’t offer much offensively any more, but Camby could be an affordable stopgap solution. He’s still a defensive presence in the paint, averaging 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game last season. Camby becoming a Maverick would probably mean that neither side was satisfied with what they found in the free agency market.

JaVale McGee (restricted): He tends to be comically boneheaded, but he’s a freakish athlete for a 7-footer and is talented enough to put up a 21-point, 14-rebound performance in a playoff win over the Lakers. He’s one of the league’s best shot blockers and finishers, but his basketball IQ hovers around his jersey number. He’s also only 24 years old, with the potential to be really, really good if a coaching staff can ever get through to him. Then again, he also has the potential to make an owner regret signing his paychecks every couple of weeks for the next four years.

Chris Kaman: Dirk’s German Olympic teammate would be the best offensive center in Mavs history, although his .446 shooting percentage for the Hornets last season isn’t exactly appealing. He’s a good post defender and shot blocker. He’s also injury prone, having missed major chunks of four of the last five seasons. How can the Mavs feel comfortable making a major investment in a 30-year-old with that medical record?

Brook Lopez (restricted): He’s a skilled, high-scoring young 7-footer who wouldn’t be a good fit with Dirk. The Mavs can’t afford to have a slow, subpar-rebounding, poor-defending big man on the floor with Dirk, especially if that center is expensive. Lopez missed all but five games last season, but he managed to score 38 points in a win over the Mavs.

Spencer Hawes: He’s a 24-year-old former lottery pick who has had some bright moments as the Sixers’ starting center the last two seasons, although he was injured for much of this year. But his game isn’t a good fit with Dirk’s. He’s a finesse big man who lives on long jumpers and too often doesn’t carry his weight defensively.

Robin Lopez (restricted): He’s 24 years old, stands 7 feet tall and has some experience. He’s a pretty good shot blocker and pick-and-roll finisher, but he’s slow-footed, an amazingly awful passer and a poor rebounder. He’s not a starting-caliber center.

Greg Oden: Oden might not play at all next season. Heck, he might never play again after knee injuries made the big man picked before Kevin Durant a bust in Portland. But the Mavs’ medical staff, which helped everyone forget about Tyson’s Chandler’s injury history, could give Oden his best chance at having a respectable NBA career. It’s worth a minimum-salary flyer to find out if Oden can get and stay healthy enough to become the dominant defensive presence he was expected to be.

Erick Dampier: Just checking to see if you’re still paying attention.

DALLAS – When the Mavs opted not to offer Tyson Chandler and Co. long-term deals, this summer’s free-agency crop was expected to be headlined by a few superstars.

The landscape quickly changed when Chris Paul exercised his player option for next season after being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. It changed for the worse again when Dwight Howard surprisingly committed not to opt out of the final season of his contract with the Orlando Magic just before the trade deadline.

That leaves Deron Williams as the lone big fish. What happens if the Mavs don’t convince The Colony native to come home?

“You’ve got to have your A, B, C, D and E and so on, but you also understand that this is a global plate tectonic,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “Things are moving and situations are fluid. You go into it with eyes wide open and hopefully you can come out of it with what you want.”

The Mavs want a player who can create offense on his own, a necessity to take pressure off of Dirk Nowitzki.

PODCAST
Mavs GM Donnie Nelson gives us an inside look at the team's summer plans as the franchise has financial flexibility for the first time in over a decade. Listen

A reunion with Steve Nash is a possibility. The Mavs declined to pay what it took to keep him in Dallas eight seasons ago because of concerns about durability, but he’s coming off a season in which he led the Western Conference in assists (10.7 per game) and shot a career-best 53.2 percent from the floor.

Everyone knows the chemistry with old pal Nowitzki would click. However, the Mavs would probably take a major step back defensively by adding a 38-year-old point guard who has always been considered a liability on that end of the floor.

Houston’s Goran Dragic, who made himself a ton of money as the fill-in starter for Kyle Lowry in the second half of the season, is a much younger option. Dragic, 26, Nash’s former backup, averaged 18.0 points and 8.4 assists while shooting 49.0 percent from the floor in 28 games as a starter this season.

Some other proven shot creators in the market: New Orleans’ Eric Gordon (restricted), Memphis’ O.J. Mayo (restricted), Minnesota’s Michael Beasley (restricted and off-court issues) and Boston’s Ray Allen (turns 37 in July).

The market for big men, which will be a big need if the Mavs use the amnesty clause on Brendan Haywood, is headlined by Indiana’s Roy Hibbert (restricted), Denver’s JaVale McGee (restricted), Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez (restricted), New Orleans’ Chris Kaman, Houston’s Marcus Camby, Philadelphia’s Spencer Hawes and Chicago’s Omer Asik. The Mavs might also explore taking a minimum-salary flyer on Greg Oden in hopes of resuscitating the former No. 1 overall pick’s career after it has been derailed by knee injuries.

“There’s a lot of good players out there,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s A, B, C, D, E, F, or keep the powder dry, which is always an option. Just because we have it doesn’t mean we have to spend it.”

Is putting a subpar supporting cast around Nowitzki for another year of the twilight of his prime really an option? Isn’t there a sense of urgency to maximize the chances of winning another championship while the best player in franchise history is still a superstar?

“Listen, how many years have we made it in the playoffs in a row?” Nelson said. “We don’t plan on putting out anything less than a championship-caliber team. That’s me and Mark’s history and that’s our commitment to our fans and this city.”

They’ve got their work cut out for them this summer, especially if they swing and miss on Williams.

Of the four teams the Dallas Mavericks face this week, three coming on the road, only the Denver Nuggets can claim to be hotter, as well as more mysterious.

More mysterious? The Nuggets, winners of seven of their last 10, did just make the most stunning trade at the deadline, sending Nene to Washington for talented, but blooper-reel center JaVale McGee. They also just reached a long-term deal with forward Wilson Chandler, who headed to China during the lockout. Both players are expected to be available for tonight's game.

As for the Mavs, with 20 games left can anyone claim to pinpoint where this team is headed -- down the drain or on their way to another championship? Injuries are again forcing odd lineups such as this one that actually got some run twice and held its own against the Spurs on Saturday: Jason Terry, Rodrigue Beaubois, Brian Cardinal, Lamar Odom and Brandan Wright.

Dallas might have to go there again tonight at Denver. They know center Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) won't play and guard Delonte West remains out. It was against the Nuggets more than a month ago that West's right finger bent in a way it never should when he reached out try to make a steal.

The big question is whether small forward Shawn Marion (sore left knee) will be back after missing his first game of the season against the Spurs. Dallas needs him badly on the road to help defend Danilo Gallinari, whose sprained ankle kept him out of the last matchup, and possibly even point guard Ty Lawson, who Marion held to three points and two assists last month.

Since West's injury, Marion has been charged with guarding point guards, which begs the question in tonight's game -- with or without Marion -- if Beaubois will make his second consecutive start after stringing together four impressive outings.

Coach Rick Carlisle doesn't divulge plans for starting lineups, but he did suggest that he might not be particularly hip to the idea of starting Beaubois at shooting guard.

"One of the downsides to starting him is his minutes get run way up," Carlisle said. "He's not used to playing 35, 36 minutes a game. We've got to be mindful of it because of the frequency of games."

At 23, who better to run up big minutes, especially if Beaubois is playing well? The Mavs have two back-to-backs in the next seven games, which isn't crazy by their recent standards.

Beaubois played 35 minutes against the Spurs, recording 16 points and eight rebounds, and he might have gone longer than that had his 3-pointer with about four minutes to go in the game hadn't of missed the basket entirely. Carlisle used that as a cue to get him out of there. In his other recent start at New Orleans on March 2, Beaubois scored 25 points in 31 minutes.

The announcement of tonight's starting lineup will be interesting. Will he or won't he be in it?

Tonight: at Denver Nuggets (25-20), 9:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: TNT/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Gallinari is back from an awful ankle sprain and after a four-game breaking-in period in which he averaged 4.5 points on 5-of-25 shooting, his touch has returned over the last three games as he's averaged 18.0 points on 17-of-36 shooting, including 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. A rare site on the Nuggets' game-day notes is a blank injury box. The Nuggets, already one of the deeper teams in the league before bringing Chandler back into the fold, hit hard times without Gallinari but seem to be hitting their stride again. They'll push the tempo all night and force the Mavs to keep up.

Wednesday: vs. Los Angeles Lakers (28-17), 8:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Mavs know they won't have to worry about a late 3-ball again from Derek Fisher. The Lakers shipped him out at the deadline in favor of younger, more athletic point guard Ramon Sessions, who comes to Tinseltown via Cleveland. L.A. saw its five-game win streak snapped Sunday night against the Jazz. It was only the Lakers' third loss in 22 games at home. On the road, L.A. hasn't exactly been Showtime at 9-14. The Mavs will get the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back -- they're in Houston on Tuesday. Led by Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, L.A. did get a 96-91 road win at Dallas in the final game before the All-Star break and it sent the Mavs spiraling down a bad path. Odom left on a personal leave prior to that game, but the former Laker is expected to be around for this one.

Friday: at San Antonio Spurs (29-14), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Tony Parker claimed that he and the boys were worn out from a playoff-atmosphere win at Oklahoma City on Friday and didn't have the energy they needed to win at Dallas on Saturday. It is certainly true that the Mavs were happier about getting that much-needed win than the Spurs were unhappy about dropping it. San Antonio will be better rested for this one. They face Minnesota at home on Wednesday night. Stephen Jackson will also be better integrated into whatever role coach Gregg Popovich sees fit for him. This will be the final game of four this season with the Spurs looking to gain the split. And don't look now, but a first-round playoff series is not out of the question.

Saturday: at Houston Rockets (24-22), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Wait, these guys are still in the NBA? The Rockets are the only Western Conference team the Mavs haven't faced this season despite being division foes. Dallas might be getting them at the right time, although the week will ultimately bare that out. Houston has played beyond expectations for most of the season but is dangerously close to being knocked out of the playoff mix by the red-hot Phoenix Suns. If the Rockets have an advantage in this one, it will come on two fronts. One, Houston does not play a back-to-back this week and it will be at home all week. Two, it added center Marcus Camby at the deadline to back up Samuel Dalembert. Along with clever power forward Luis Scola, the Rockets might be able to take advantage of a Mavs team that is expected to still be without Haywood and coming off Friday's game at San Antonio.

DALLAS -- The Mavericks will finally have their "three-headed monster" back at center for tonight's game against the woeful Washington Wizards.

Centers Brendan Haywood and Brandan Wright participated in the morning shootaround and are expected to play.

That's great news for a struggling team that was built to rely on its depth. Yes, the Mavs have had two full days to rest from their awful road trip, but that doesn't mean that the second-oldest team in the league will be fully recharged from playing five games in six nights and nine an 12.

Getting two big bodies back after five- and six-game absences to defend and rebound will be key in a game the Mavs simply have to have.

Wright sustained a concussion March 2 at New Orleans. Haywood, the Mavs' starter all season, sprained his ankle in the opening minute of the loss at Oklahoma City on March 5.

"We miss him a lot," coach Rick Carlisle said of Haywood. "We basically missed him for five games and we struggled. It's a case where the way our team is structured, and it's the same as it was last year, if we're missing one guy that's a key guy it can really affect our entire thing. He's very important and Brandan is very important to us."

Dallas, desperate to turn around a 2-7 stretch since returning from the All-Star break, will be happy to have its center rotation back on the floor against Wizards big men, 7-foot starting center JaVale McGee and 6-11 Andray Blatche.

Wright slowly emerged as key reserve for the Mavs, providing energy and above-the-rim play after being seldom used in the first month or so of the season. Wright's ascension has dropped Ian Mahinmi's minutes, but Mahinmi, who actually leads the three with a 6.3 scoring average, made a strong case for himself over the last week to see more floor time as the fill-in starting center.

This run with Team USA, which Tyson Chandler hopes takes him all the way to Turkey for the World Championships, could be just the thing the the 7-foot-1 center stung by injuries the past two seasons needs to jumpstart his upcoming season with the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs will like what they saw Saturday night out of their bearded center as Chandler scored 13 points and added nine rebounds in the first Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas. Chandler's White team, lead by Kevin Durant''s 28 points, ousted the Blue squad, 114-96. Chandler was 6-of-6 from the floor, mostly throwing down two-handed jams.

Chandler, who ran the floor well and showed the Team USA brass what it really wanted to see with four blocked shots in some 20 minutes of action, appears to be a lock to move on with the 15 players who will make Monday's expected first cut and continue on with training camp in New York. He's also likely the favorite to make the team because the center pool is extraordinarily thin with just New Jersey's Brook Lopez and Washington's JaVale McGee, who's is coming off a strong summer-league showing, involved in the Team USA training camp. Reports out of Las Vegas suggest that all three centers could be moving on to New York.

Chandler told NBA.com Thursday that he likes how he's progressing. He missed 68 games the past two years due to ankle injuries.

"I had a great summer, as far as training," Chandler said. "But coming here in basketball shape is totally different. So the last couple of days I've been able to get my legs under me. And every day I've progressed."

Assuming Chandler moves on to New York, he'll play against two of his new teammates on Aug. 15 when Team USA takes on France at Madison Square Garden. Mavs guard Roddy Beaubois and free-agent center pickup Ian Mahinmi play for the French squad.

The FIBA World Championships begin on Aug. 28 in Turkey.

New Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler appears to be an easy candidate to get past the first cut for Team USA.

ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan is in Las Vegas taking in the workouts. He classifies the 7-foot-1 Chandler in the category of "Not on the bubble." Here's how he sees Chandler's performance this week:

He has clearly been the team's best center, and has looked healthy after missing most of the last two NBA seasons with injuries.

This comes days after USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said that Chandler needed to get in "real" shape.

Chandler's chances of making Team USA, which will compete in the World Championships next month in Turkey, are high. Because of withdrawals, the center pool is thin and Team USA is looking for rebounders and shot blockers out of its big men.

Chandler's main competition is New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez, who, Sheridan reports, has looked sluggish after recovering from a long bout with mononucleosis, and long-shot JaVale McGee of the Washington Wizards.

Chandler and Team USA will see their first game action at 9 tonight in an intrasquad scrimmage on ESPN2 and ESPN3.