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DALLAS – Rick Carlisle probably can’t make it through dinner with his wife and daughter without discussing the Dallas Mavericks’ need to improve defensively this season.

Without prompting, Carlisle brought up defense seconds into his press conference at media day. It was the sole focus of the Mavs’ opening practice of training camp. He readily admits that it’s an obsession for him.

“I just look at the roster and I just know that has to be our emphasis,” Carlisle said. “We’re going to work hard on our offense, but our major emphasis has got to be the defensive end.”

There’s no point in dancing around the issue. The Mavs, who tied for 18th in the NBA in defensive efficiency last season (107.1 points allowed per 100 possessions), must allow significantly fewer points to have a prayer of being a playoff factor.

The challenge for Carlisle’s Mavs: Accomplish that mission with a starting lineup that is flawed at that end of the floor.

Dirk Nowitzki has never been shy about acknowledging that his athletic limitations make individual defense difficult for him. That’s also the case for point guard Jose Calderon. Monta Ellis usually ranks among the league leaders in steals, but he’s been a high-risk, high-reward defender whose size (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) puts him at a significant disadvantage against most shooting guards.

“We’ve all got to pick up the slack for them,” said Shawn Marion, the one player on the roster who has earned a reputation for being a defensive stopper. “It’s a team effort. We’ve got to collectively help each other.”

That’s what made signing Samuel Dalembert, the last real interior defensive presence available in free agency, so important this summer. He understands that he’s being paid primarily to rebound and help mask the defensive flaws of other Mavs.

“That’s the piece the team needs,” said Dalembert, who has career averages of 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game as a part-time player. “I watched them last year. They have no problem scoring, but defensive-wise, they want to be back where they were three years ago. That’s our focus. That’s our goal.

“You’re not going to try to make a guy who has not been a defensive player a defensive player overnight, but what you can do is you can make them feel comfortable. Give me your best and if you get beat, I’ve got your back. That’s the key.”

The Mavs are counting on Dalembert to be the anchor of the defense, but it’s unrealistic to expect him to clean up messes on a consistent basis. That’s why “collectively” is a buzzword in Mavs camp.

"On paper, we don’t have a group of guys that look like individual defensive stoppers," Carlisle said. "I mean, Shawn Marion is still one of the best guys in the game. Vince [Carter] has good analytic numbers on defense. Dirk is better than you think he is on defense. But we don’t have any first- or second-team all-defensive guys on our team, so we have to do it collectively."

Carlisle repeatedly cites what he considers the Mavs’ most troubling defensive stat from last season: They allowed the second most made free throws in the NBA. It’s proof that they were a poor perimeter defensive team that couldn’t stop teams from attacking off the dribble without fouling.

That’s one facet of defense that Carlisle will hammer during camp and continue harping on all season. Another is 1-on-1 defense. Transition defense – and not giving up good looks on 3s early in the shot clock – is another.

It’s about understanding the concepts of the Mavs’ defensive scheme, which was good enough to win a title in 2011, and accepting the sacrifices necessary to make the whole more than the sum of the parts.

“It starts with an attitude and an understanding of how important it is,” Carlisle said. “I’ve got to make sure guys know how important it is. That’s the starting point.”

DALLAS -- For Monta Ellis, “efficient” might as well be a four-letter word.

He’s become a sort of analytics antihero the past couple seasons, a model of scoring inefficiency. Frankly, Ellis is sick and tired of hearing about it, which he made clear by shaking his head and chuckling when the subject was broached during the Dallas Mavericks’ media day Monday.

“I’m going to get criticized for what I do anyway,” Ellis said. “The only thing I can do is laugh it off because there’s a lot of guys that take a lot of bad shots in this league. A lot of bad shots. Don’t nobody want to talk about them, but everybody talks about shots that Monta take[s]. The only thing I’m going to do is take the punches and prove everybody wrong.”

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Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett at Mavericks media day to discuss his expectations for the upcoming season. Listen

There are a lot of guys in the NBA who take bad shots, but precious few put up more bricks than Ellis did in his final season with the Milwaukee Bucks, which explains why he settled for signing a three-year, $25 million deal with the Mavs that was far shy of his asking price when free agency opened.

Only former Bucks backcourt partner Brandon Jennings had a lower field goal percentage than Ellis (41.6) among players who averaged at least 15 points per game. Ellis’ 3-point percentage (28.7) was the lowest among qualifiers. And, according to ESPN Stats & Information, Ellis had the worst field goal percentage on off-the-dribble jumpers (32.3) among players who launched at least 250 of those shots.

If that continues this season, Ellis will be a terrible investment for the Mavs. But his contract could end up being a bargain if Ellis, whom Dirk Nowitzki excitedly describes as the most explosive teammate he’s ever had, is willing to do what it takes to drastically improve his scoring efficiency.

“What I’m saying is, I’m going to play Monta basketball,” said Ellis, who has a career average of 19.4 points per game on a respectable 45.6 percent shooting from the floor. “If y’all want to criticize, criticize.”

Asked to clarify what exactly “Monta basketball” is, Ellis exhibits that he gets it, as much as he disdains the discussion.

“Getting out, running, taking the shots that’s appropriate and attack the basket more,” Ellis said. “I think over the past few years I got to a point where I was settling for jump shots. At first, I attacked the basket, never was the high-end guy to shoot 3s. I think I put a lot more 3s into my game, so I’m going to get back to attacking the basket, getting out there and being a one-man fast break and bring pace to this team.”

Count on coach Rick Carlisle hammering that mentality into Ellis’ head.

Carlisle spent time this summer working with Ellis on his jumper and making adjustments regarding balance and mechanics, but the Mavs don’t want Ellis launching a bunch from long distance. They definitely don’t want Ellis to average four 3-point attempts per game, as he did last season, especially if many of them are contested and/or off the dribble.

Ellis has proven he’s capable of lighting it up without exhibiting the shot discretion of a lovesick sailor. In 2007-08, Ellis shot 53.1 percent from the floor while averaging 20.2 points per game for the Golden State Warriors, attempting less than one 3-pointer per game. Not coincidentally, the burden of the scoring load didn’t fall on Ellis’ shoulders that season, when Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson also averaged more than 20 points for the 48-win Warriors.

The Mavs want Ellis to do what he does best: attack the basket. They believe he’ll have ample opportunities to do so while playing with Nowitzki, the sweetest shooting 7-footer of all time, and Jose Calderon, a pass-first point guard who led the league in 3-point percentage last season.

“We’ve got to put him in the right situations and positions,” Carlisle said. “That’s going to give Monta opportunities to find space. When you get him moving toward the rim with space, he’s a great finisher. He can get to the free throw line, and he’s an underrated assist guy. I think all that works.”

If it works as well as the Mavs hope, the word “efficient” might not sound so offensive to Ellis.

The NBA is about competition on the floor, but it’s also about dollars and cents. Teams now must find players that can outperform deals they’re signed to and use them as assets on the floor or as assets to flip in order to acquire a game-changing piece. ESPNDallas.com will grade how the Dallas Mavericks fared in terms of contracts of their new acquisitions.

Jose Calderon: Signed to a four-year, $29 million contract. Calderon will be paid $6,791,570 in 2013-14. There are neither player or team options nor partial guarantees to his deal.

The Mavs likely outbid the market on Calderon, but they needed a pure point guard in the worst way based on how last season played out at the position.
Calderon would have been an option for the Mavs whether they won the Dwight Howard sweepstakes or not. It’s hard to imagine that it would have been a hard sell to Calderon to suggest he come to Dallas to finish his career directing traffic for Dirk Nowitzki and Howard.

The way the roster has been set up, defense is a major question mark. Calderon doesn’t exactly provide comfort in the department, either. The Mavs weren’t a juggernaut on defense last year as they were classified as below average in terms of defensive rating with a rating of 106.5.

They were considered to be average in terms of offensive rating last season with a rating of 105.9. Healthy or not, a team with Nowitzki on it shouldn’t be considered average on offense. If they’re already going to be troublesome on defense, they needed to upgrade on offense. Calderon represents one of the better options they could find in terms of getting their flow offense going again.

There is a concern based on the fact that all four years of Calderon’s deal are guaranteed. Age may be a concern as Calderon will be 35 in the final year of his deal, but he still has the ability to facilitate on offense and shoot the lights out. Based on how last season played out, the Mavs were willing to extend themselves to acquire a talented point guard.

Grade: B+

When speaking to ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s Galloway and Company back in late July, Mark Cuban vehemently denounced naysayers of Dirk Nowitzki who said that the Mavs forward's time as an elite player was done. The doubters have fuel based on the fact that Nowitzki had his lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 1998-99 and had to battle back from knee surgery.

"Knock on wood, if we stay healthy, I think people are just missing Dirk in ways they shouldn't," Cuban said in late July. "Like I've been telling him, Karl Malone won an MVP at 35, and there's no reason why he can't be considered in an MVP conversation at 35.”

An indirect way to ensure Nowitzki is cranking on cylinders is to have a John Stockton-like player. Enter Jose Calderon.

“He’s one of the best ball distributors in the game,” Cuban said of Calderon during the team’s introductory press conference last week. “He’s going to open up the court.”

The 31-year-old Calderon will be handed the keys to the flow offense. While he doesn’t carry a lot of playoff experience, he’s widely regarded as one of the most efficient point guards the league has, holding career averages of 10.1 points and 7.2 assists. He’s coming off a season where he split time between Toronto and Detroit and averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 assists and just 1.7 turnovers while shooting a league-best .461 percent from 3-point range.

Bringing an influx of basketball IQ to the roster with Calderon should make life easier for Nowitzki.

(Read full post)

Monta Ellis at least addresses the Mavericks’ desperate need for speed.

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Mark Cuban joins Galloway and Company to discuss the Mavericks' new GM Gersson Rosas and much more. Listen

“Possibly the fastest player ever to wear a Mavs uniform,” coach Rick Carlisle said via text message. “Scores, makes plays and is great in transition. We consider him a unique talent and look forward to integrating him into our team.”

Dirk Nowitzki has never played with a guard as good at getting to the rim as Ellis, who has a career average of 19.4 points per game. Ellis has never had a teammate who draws defenses the way Nowitzki does, which should create a lot of space for Ellis to do what he does best.

And the Mavs expect both of their top scoring threats to benefit greatly from playing with pass-first point guard Jose Calderon.

The key for Ellis, who made his three-year, $25 million deal official Tuesday, will be becoming much more efficient than he was the last season and a half with the Milwaukee Bucks. His shooting percentages plummeted to 41.6 from the floor and 28.7 from 3-point range last season, the latter the lowest among league qualifiers.

Ellis’ shot selection needs to improve, and the Mavs believe they can help put him in situations where he can get good looks on a consistent basis.

They also think they can help him improve his jumper, with Carlisle intending to spend a lot of time working with Ellis on an individual basis, much like he did last year with O.J. Mayo. Mayo shot a career-best 40.7 percent from 3-point range during his lone season in Dallas.

Ellis’ best 3-point shooting season came in 2010-11, when he hit 36.1 percent of his long-distance attempts. That’d be a bonus if he hit at that clip for the Mavs, who signed Ellis primarily for his ability to get to the bucket.

PODCAST
Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss Mark Cuban's comments from Las Vegas about the Mavericks' offseason, how he sees the team without Dwight Howard and more. Listen

The Mavericks didn't accomplish their ultimate mission of adding a superstar, but they did accomplish a significant goal this summer.

They got better. Maybe good enough to get back into the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.

The Mavs, assuming all the deals they've agreed become official soon, made upgrades almost across the board after Dwight Howard decided to head to Houston. A position-by-position look:

POINT GUARD: The Mavs believe Jose Calderon will solve a lot of their problems from last season, particularly regarding late-game basketball IQ woes.

Darren Collison is a nice sparkplug backup, but he never earned coach Rick Carlisle's trust to run the offense, especially in clutch situations, as evidenced by the Mavs recruiting geezer point guards Derek Fisher and Mike James out of their rocking chairs during the season.

Calderon, who has career averages of 7.2 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game, can be counted on to get the ball where it needs to go. He's not a creator, but Calderon is a phenomenal spot-up shooter, leading the NBA in 3-point percentage (.461) last season. The Mavs gave Calderon a four-year, $29 million deal to make the offense run much smoother.

The 31-year-old Calderon comes with defensive deficiencies due to his limited athleticism, but the Mavs' point guards weren’t exactly Gary Payton in his prime on that end of the floor last season. That’s a problem the Mavs didn't fix, not one that was created this summer.

Devin Harris, who is likely to sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal after recovering from a dislocated toe that caused his three-year, $9 million offer to be pulled, would give the Mavs a proven, versatile veteran backup with some pedigree as a defensive stopper. Harris isn't the blur the Mavs used as bait to get Jason Kidd, but when healthy, he's a solid third guard who can play both backcourt positions.

Rookies Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel are a couple of intriguing prospects who will have to earn every minute of playing time this season unless they drive down the tollway to Frisco. They're different players -- Larkin is an explosive athlete who can create off the dribble and shoot from deep; Mekel is a savvy distributor -- but both have potential to be factors as pick-and-roll facilitators.

SHOOTING GUARD: Monta Ellis is better than O.J. Mayo.

How much better? That depends on how coachable an eight-year veteran with a career average of 19.4 points per game will be in Dallas.

Ellis' shot selection in Milwaukee the last season and a half was simply awful, making him an extremely inefficient scorer. If the Mavs can convince him to eliminate long pull-up jumpers from his diet, they'll have no regrets about the three-year, $25 million deal they offered him only after discovering Harris' dislocated toe.

The upside with Ellis: He’s the most dynamically athletic guard to ever be paired with Dirk Nowitzki. He's a tremendous penetrator who is a good finisher when he gets to the rim and willing passer when help defense comes. He's a one-man fast break waiting to happen. And he’s capable of taking over games for stretches with scoring flurries.

Ellis gets a lot of steals, but he’ll never be confused for an All-Defense candidate. Frankly, he's a concern at that end of the floor, not that he's a downgrade from Mayo.

Wayne Ellington, who will sign a two-year deal for $5.3 million, will give the Mavs a perimeter threat (.382 on 3s for his career) off the pine and isn't a poor defender.

Second-round pick Ricky Ledo, who didn’t play a minute of college basketball due to academic issues, is a raw project with starter potential who should be a featured attraction in Frisco this season.

SMALL FORWARD: The Mavs didn’t make any upgrades at small forward this summer, but it was a position of strength last season. The hope is that Father Time doesn’t tackle Shawn Marion or Vince Carter this season.

It helps that Carlisle can keep their minutes manageable, although it appears that Marion will have to continue to play a lot of power forward when Nowitzki rests.

It'd be nice if Jae Crowder can make a jump after a solid rookie season, especially by second-round standards. His 3-point shooting in summer league has been a disappointment, but Crowder is at least a tough, rugged body to bring off the bench.

POWER FORWARD: If Nowitzki's knees don't act up, this position might be the Mavs' most improved next season. He missed the first third of the season and took several weeks to work his way back into form last year.

The 35-year-old Nowitzki is no longer capable of carrying a contender -- hence the failed plan to acquire a superstar -- but it's not a stretch to think he can get back to the All-Star game after his 11-year streak was snapped. He averaged 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor after the break last season, the kind of production that can be expected of him at this point of his career.

CENTER: Until recently, if Samuel Dalembert was mentioned in the same sentence as Howard, it was something along the lines of, "Howard dominated Dalembert." But this isn't about a no-contest Howard-Dalembert comparison. It's about whether Dalembert is an upgrade over Chris Kaman.

There's no doubt that Dalembert is a better fit in Dallas than Kaman, as detailed here earlier this week.

The Mavs will also bring back Brandan Wright, barring an unforeseen development in his contract negotiations, and hope he can build off his outstanding finish of last season.

Elton Brand's physical presence and veteran savvy might be missed, but the Mavs should be better at center if Dalembert and Wright can stay healthy, whether or not injury-riddled former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden is added to the roster.

This summer wasn't the spectacular success the Mavs hoped for, but it was good enough to give them a chance to get back into the playoffs.

This spin won't serve Mark Cuban well.

His claim that the Dallas Mavericks are "in a better spot" than they would have been if they had signed Dwight Howard isn't what fans want to hear. Especially not after they heard essentially the same thing last summer after the Mavs missed out on Deron Williams.

If that's the case, what was the point of stripping down the 2011 title team?

PODCAST
Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss Mark Cuban's comments from Las Vegas about the Mavericks' offseason, how he sees the team without Dwight Howard and more. Listen

Hindsight proved otherwise, but I'll stick to my guns that Cuban's decision to create financial flexibility at the expense of keeping the aging 2011 championship roster intact was worth the risk due to the potential reward. The Mavs needed to make mid-30s Dirk Nowitzki their second-best player to have a realistic chance at another championship run, given all the gray hairs of Dirk's supporting cast.

What went wrong? The circumstances changed after Tyson Chandler & Co. turned down one-year offers to stay in Dallas and got paid good money to go elsewhere. And give the competition credit for making their situations more attractive.

The Mavs hoped Chris Paul would be looking to escape New Orleans last summer. Instead, he got traded to the Los Angeles Clippers soon after Cuban made his difficult, CBA-influenced decisions. The Mavs prayed Paul would consider them this summer, but the Clippers pried open Donald Sterling's wallet to replace Vinny Del Negro with Doc Rivers, prompting CP3 to inform potential suitors that they need not even bother with a recruiting pitch.

The Mavs hoped Howard would be looking to escape Orlando last summer. Instead, he pulled an all-time waffle and made a last-minute decision to not opt out of the last season of his contract with the Magic. He regretted that enough to force a trade, landing with the Los Angeles Lakers for a "nightmare" season. That would have played right into the Mavs' hands had the Houston Rockets not done such a phenomenal job accumulating and deploying assets over the last couple of years, leading Howard to head down I-45 to team up with James Harden.

The Mavs hoped Williams would be looking to escape the Nets last summer, although he was always Plan C. The Nets made the bold, expensive move of trading for Joe Johnson, convincing Williams that he had a better chance of competing in Brooklyn than Dallas. Cuban, who had reservations about Williams all along, helped the Nets' cause by not joining the Mavs' contingent for face-to-face meetings with the All-Star point guard.

The truth of the matter is that Paul, Howard and Williams all made the right basketball decision. They all picked teams that are in a better position to contend than Dallas would have been if one of those superstars had signed with the Mavs.

In a roundabout way, Cuban acknowledges that with his annual statement that the Mavs are better off for having failed to hook the big fish. Of course, that's also acknowledging a fatal flaw with the original big-picture plan.

It's a stretch of the truth, to say the least, to claim that the Mavs benefited from those big fish picking other ponds. This is a superstar-driven league, and Dallas desperately needs to find a way to add another to give Dirk a chance to compete for a second championship in his golden years.

The Mavs certainly weren't better off without Williams last season, when a gimpy Dirk and a bunch of one-and-done temporary teammates limped to a .500 finish, snapping a 12-year playoff streak. With Williams on board, the Mavs could have easily added Samuel Dalembert as a stopgap, rim-protecting center this summer by using their midlevel exception.

Would that make the Mavs a championship-caliber team? Doubtful. But having Williams here would make the Mavs more competitive now and more attractive to free agents next summer, when the Mavs would have still had ample cap space.

This has been a better summer for the Mavs, for sure. They added a pair of potential foundation pieces for the future in guards Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis, plus Dalembert.

But just imagine the reaction if Cuban called Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and offered Calderon, Ellis and Dalembert for Howard. Or made the same calls to L.A. or Brooklyn to try to pry away Paul or Williams.

It'd be hilarious laughter and a quick hang-up.

You can make the case that the Mavs have recovered well after missing out on all the big fish, but nobody in their rational mind would believe that the Mavs are better off in the short or long term for not having successfully recruited a superstar.

Not even Cuban, no matter what he says.

Mark Cuban took a few minutes out of watching Wednesday's Las Vegas Summer League action to give ESPNDallas.com a state-of-the-Mavs update.

The transcript of Cuban's comments:

On where talks are with Devin Harris:

Mark Cuban: “I think we’ve got something worked out. We just restructured the deal. When we have something to announce, we’ll announce it. ... I think we'll get him back, but I don't want to jinx us. We'll let him rehab with us and all that kind of stuff."

PODCAST
Fitzsimmons and Durrett discuss Mark Cuban's comments from Las Vegas about the Mavericks' offseason, how he sees the team without Dwight Howard and more. Listen

On Samuel Dalembert coming to Dallas:

“It’s not signed ... but it’s agreed upon. He’ll bring shot-blocking and rebounding to the team.”

On the situation with Bernard James and the extension of the deadline date to guarantee his contract:

"I can’t go into all of the details, but you get the gist of it."

On where things are in regard to acquiring Monta Ellis:

"It’s all agreed to. When you’re using cap room, you’ve got to stagger when you have everything signed to maximize your cap room."

On the Mavs' results in free agency:

"Obviously, we didn’t get Dwight. We took a chance and it didn’t happen. I think we put together a really good team. It sticks within the culture we’ve tried to define. We’ve dealt with some of the weakness we had from last year. Hopefully, if we stay healthy, good things will happen."

On where things are now with the two-year plan:

"I think we’ve put ourselves in a spot where we’re in a better spot than we were at if we got just the one max-out deal. I think it’d be better shorter term and longer-term. I don’t want to make that sound the wrong way. I think we’ll be better this year because we added five good players or more."

On adjusting on the fly this offseason:

"You guys like to make a big deal about it. Obviously, we were disappointed we didn’t get Dwight, but we pretty much got everything else we wanted to get and then some. Much more. We never thought we’d be able to get Monta. It turned into a good summer. Now, the key is to get everybody playing together, get everyone healthy, keep them healthy and go."

On what Jose Calderon will bring to the team:

"We just have a great compliment of people. He’s great in the pick-and-roll, which will be great for Dirk [Nowitzki] a whole bunch. He’s a pass-first point guard, which will help with Monta. It’ll help with Sam, Vince [Carter] and Shawn [Marion]. We’re going to have guys who can get Shawn the ball, which we couldn’t do last year. Vince won’t have to work as hard as he did last year. We can block shots between Sam and Brandan [Wright]. I think we’ll be in good shape."

Question: I guess that means things are still going well with bringing Brandan Wright back?

"Yes."

Q: How tough was it to see Shane Larkin go down and have to miss the entire Las Vegas Summer League?

"It was the last play of practice, which was the worst part. Fortunately, it happened early enough that he’ll be back in time for the regular season. He just landed wrong when he went up for a bucket."

Q: Gal Mekel has drawn some buzz. What have you seen from him?

"Gal has played really well. He’s the type of player where the the better players that are around him, the better he is. I think he’s going to get better and better. He’s a smart kid. He’s a leader. He has to improve his shot, but he knows how to play."

On Josh Akognon’s performance in the summer league:

"He’s still on the roster. Like everybody else, he’s got to earn his spot. He’s still there."

Q: Is there anyone else on the summer roster who could be brought to training camp?

"Ricky [Ledo] will obviously be there. Ricky has shown some good things, but he’s got to get used to playing basketball again."

Q: What are you looking at next in free agency?

"We’re just getting ready for training camp and getting everyone going."

Q: Is the trade market still something you could look into pursuing?

"We’re open. Given that all of these are new signings, it’s going to be tough for us to do a trade. We can do anything until December. We didn’t sign these guys to trade them. We signed them to keep them. Our goal is to have everyone here, play together and move on. We still have a lot cap room for next year, so we’ll see."

“Monta Ellis have it all.”

That came straight out of Monta Ellis’ mouth, delivered as the conclusion of a classic sound bite during an interview with Fox Sports Wisconsin last season, in which he declared that he was on the same level with Dwyane Wade. Well, other than wins and championships.

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Marc Stein joins Ian Fitzsimmons and Tim MacMahon to discuss why the Mavericks didn't want to match Cleveland's offer to Andrew Bynum, what's next for the Mavs and the possibility of Dirk Nowitzki ending his career elsewhere. Listen

It’s grammatically incorrect and hilariously inaccurate.

The grammar can be forgiven. After all, it’s not like Ellis is a millionaire because he got good grades at Lanier High in Jackson, Miss., before jumping straight to the NBA. The problem is that Ellis actually believes what he says, which explains why he’s become the modern-day model for NBA inefficiency.

Monta Ellis definitely does not have it all. If the Mavs can get him to realize that, the three-year deal in the $25 million range might be money well spent.

Step one is to get Ellis to stop taking long, pull-up jumpers. For Ellis, those shots are like sweets for a fat kid. The Mavs can’t let Ellis keep reaching into the cookie jar.

The problem is Ellis launches a lot of those looks and doesn’t make very many. According to ESPN Stats and Information, he shot the lowest percentage on off-the-dribble jumpers in the league last season among players who took at least 250 of them, hitting a paltry 32.3 percent.

On a related note, Ellis also ranked last in the league among qualifiers in 3-point percentage (28.7 percent). Yet Ellis hoisted 328 of them, four per game.

No wonder Ellis shot just 41.6 percent from the floor last season, the second-lowest among players who averaged at least 15 points per game.

Ellis hasn’t always been so inefficient, but it’s a trend that has taken a drastic downturn in the last few seasons. He was actually once an extreme high-efficiency scorer, averaging 20.2 points on 53.1 percent shooting as a 22-year-old in 2007-08, when he attempted less than one 3-pointer per game.

The Mavs need to get Ellis to play to his strengths again, which means making him understand his limitations. Open spot-up 3s are acceptable, but other than that, his shots should come almost solely from attacking the basket off drives and in transition.

The hope from the Dallas front office, which reached for Ellis after all the other impact free agents were off the board and Devin Harris’ dislocated toe was discovered, is that the personnel here is uniquely suited to put Ellis in position to succeed.

Jose Calderon will be the first pass-first point guard to be paired with Ellis during the eight-year veteran’s NBA career. Dirk Nowitzki will be the biggest offensive threat to play with Ellis. And Rick Carlisle is the most creative offensive coach to work with Ellis.

That means that Ellis should be able to get a lot of high-quality looks. The Mavs need Ellis, a career 19.2-point-per-game scorer, to put up numbers, but not as a volume scorer. He should have space to do what he does best, especially when he’s on the floor with three guys who were 40-plus-percent 3-point shooters last season (Calderon, Nowitzki and Vince Carter).

None of that matters if Ellis thinks it’s a good idea to jack up contested 3s and 20-footers off the bounce.

Less is more with Monta Ellis, who can’t have it all if he’s going to help the Mavs win.

With the Las Vegas Summer League starting on Saturday for the Dallas Mavericks, there are a few things to remember.

First off, the games really don't mean anything and inconsistency is almost a given. These are glorified rec-league games, after all.

Still, there are reasons to pay attention.

Here are 10 things to watch for:

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Ian Fitzsimmons and Tim MacMahon to discuss why the Mavericks didn't want to match Cleveland's offer to Andrew Bynum, what's next for the Mavs and the possibility of Dirk Nowitzki ending his career elsewhere. Listen

1. The format. For the first time since the league's inception in 2004, the league will feature a format that includes preliminary games, followed by a single-elimination tournament leading to an eventual champion. After the conclusion of preliminary games on July 16, all participating teams will be seeded for tournament play; a champion will be crowned on July 22.

2. Summer of Shane. Shane Larkin will be looking to prove that he belongs in the NBA by making a good impression in Las Vegas. With the acquisitions of Jose Calderon and Devin Harris, the Mavs have ensured that Larkin will have time to adapt to the pro game.

3. Jae Crowder's shooting and attacking. Crowder impressed many in his rookie year by being a part of the team's rotation. There were times where he fell in love with the 3-point shot, making him very predictable. As the season ended, he adapted and started to drive to the basket. If he can mix it up, that will do wonders for his overall game. He will now be a leader with this roster in Vegas.

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The biggest catch in the Mavericks’ summer free-agency expedition is point guard Jose Calderon.

That isn’t by design, of course. When free agency opened, the Mavs hoped to talk Dwight Howard into coming to Dallas.

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Howard, however, headed to Houston. The Mavs then opted not to offer Andrew Bynum a contract before he committed to the Cavaliers, scared away by his bad knees. The Mavs' starting center is to be determined, with stopgap candidate Samuel Dalembert meeting Thursday with the Mavs.

That isn’t too big of a concern to Calderon, who agreed to a four-year, $29 million deal to take the reins of Rick Carlisle’s flow offense.

“For sure, it’s important to have a big center,” Calderon said on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s “Fitzsimmons and Durrett” on Thursday. “But at the end of the day, the way coach plays and if you play the right way with a guy like Dirk (Nowitzki), it makes everything a little bit easier for everybody. If you play the right way, you may not need that big a star at the 5 position.

“You just need a guy who can complement Dirk, who can play defense and rebound the ball. Maybe you’re not looking at Dwight or Andrew Bynum like there were talks around there, but you mainly need a guy who can complement and can give you good work out there without being a star to make us a good team.”

Some other highlights from Calderon’s appearance:

What made him decide to sign with the Mavs?

“The truth is that I don’t know if there was exactly that many options there. Sometimes the offers come and go two hours later. It’s kind of a weird thing. I think there were several things I wanted to put into the balance to make a decision. There was the team, the franchise, the coach, the players -- playing with Dirk was something that was important for me -- the city, a little bit of everything.”

How does he envision his game fitting with Nowitzki’s?

“We know what Dirk can do, so I’m really happy to be here with him. Both of us can shoot the ball, so we’re going to put some problems out there on the defense. Those 2-on-2 situations are going to be a big thing for us, for sure.”

What makes the Mavs attractive to free agents?

“You’ve got an owner who really likes to win. When you know you’ve got somebody who is going to do whatever it takes to win, it makes you think about just coming to Dallas. You know he’s not going to wait 10 years to try to win. He’s going to always try to get the better opportunity out there. That’s what convinced me, and I think that’s what people ought to be thinking of.”

Does he consider it part of his job to be a mentor to rookie point guards Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel?

“I always try to help. I’m always going to put the team first. That’s the way it works, so I’m going to talk to them a lot. I’m going to learn from them, and they can learn from me everything they want. I’m going to always be open to questions. If they play point or whatever, I’m always going to try to do what’s best for the team and I always try to help everybody.”

The Mavericks expect to bid farewell to Rodrigue Beaubois.

“It’s probably in his best interest to find a better opportunity out there,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said.

The team remains “in discussions” to bring free agents Elton Brand and Brandan Wright back to Dallas, Nelson said. With the Mavs having a glaring hole at the center position, it’s likely that they will ensure they get at least one of those players to come back, if not both.

But the Roddy B. era is likely over.

The Mavs have already made plans to bring Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Wayne Ellington on board. They also will have rookies Shane Larkin, Ricky Ledo and Gal Mekel fighting for spots on the roster, starting with their work in Vegas for the summer league. That leaves Beaubois’ return in serious doubt.

“I think there’s still a conversation with Roddy, but it would be more difficult at this point.” Nelson said.

From the penthouse to the outhouse, it appears Beaubois’ hype after his rookie year has officially run its course. Beaubois’ potential never really materialized because of inconsistent play and injuries. He averaged 4.0 points, 1.9 assists, 1.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game last season. He also shot 36.9 percent from the floor and 29.2 from 3-point range in 45 games.

Many fans wanted Mavs coach Rick Carlisle to free Roddy B. after his rookie season. With the backcourt filling up in a hurry, Roddy B. is officially going to be free. It remains to be seen if he still has an opportunity to extend his NBA career. It does appear that he will have to find out in another uniform.

The Mavericks don’t expect to do any more summer shopping for backcourt help.

“That’s probably a long shot,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told reporters Wednesday.

In other words, don’t hold your breath for Monta Ellis to become a Maverick.

The Mavs have addressed their backcourt needs by agreeing to terms with point guard Jose Calderon, combo guard Devin Harris and shooting guard Wayne Ellington. Sources have indicated throughout the free-agency process that the Mavs’ interest in Ellis has been dependent on his slipping through the cracks and being a short-term bargain, as O.J. Mayo was last summer.

The Mavs, who have approximately $8.2 million in salary-cap space, have made filling their massive void at center a priority. They are engaged in cautious negotiations with Andrew Bynum after meeting with the free-agent center and his agent Wednesday morning.

Ellis, a combo guard with a career average of 19.4 points despite poor efficiency ratings, is a luxury the Mavs likely cannot afford.

At some point, the Mavericks will address the glaring need for size. So far in free agency, they’ve just loaded up on bodies for the backcourt.

Wayne Ellington is the fourth guard to agree to terms with the Mavs in free agency, joining Jose Calderon, Gal Mekel and Devin Harris.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Ellington should be a rotation player at a reasonable price. His two-year deal worth more than $5 million will likely come out of the Mavs’ “room” exception, meaning he wouldn’t count against the salary cap this season.

Ellington and Harris could compete to start at shooting guard. Ellington, who has played for three teams in four NBA seasons, is a decent defender who has shot 38.2 percent from 3-point range during his career. He averaged 10.4 points in 38 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season after a midseason trade from the Memphis Grizzlies.

With Andrew Bynum in town to meet with the Mavs, Dallas has approximately $8.7 million in salary-cap space. That figure that can be increased in several different ways, including waiving players with nonguaranteed contracts (Josh Akognon and Bernard James), renouncing the Early Bird rights of Brandan Wright or trading a veteran such as Shawn Marion or Vince Carter to a team with cap space.

A natural reaction to Devin Harris agreeing to return to Dallas is to wonder just how many point guards the Mavericks can squeeze onto the roster.

Don’t assume that point guard will be Harris’ primary position during his second tenure in Dallas, however.

The 6-foot-3, 192-pound Harris will likely get at least as many minutes at shooting guard as he does at point guard. He might be the Mavs’ starting shooting guard next season with Vince Carter continuing to serve as the sixth man.

Harris and Jose Calderon could be a compatible pair, although they'd form an undersized backcourt. Harris has proven capable of holding his own defensively against shooting guards. Calderon's perimeter shooting -- he led the league in 3-point accuracy at 46.1 percent last season -- should mesh well with Harris' ability to get to the basket.

The Mavs are also intrigued by the possibility of having two pick-and-roll ballhandlers on the floor together, forcing opponents to have to defend it on both sides of the floor. Calderon's spot-up shooting should create space for Harris to operate in the pick-and-roll.

According to 82games.com’s stats, Harris split time evenly between point guard and shooting guard in Atlanta last season, when he averaged 9.9 points and 3.4 assists in 24.5 minutes per game. The Hawks outscored opponents by 20 points with Harris playing point guard and by 133 points with him as the shooting guard.

Harris, who will sign a three-year deal worth a little more than $9 million, also gives the Mavs an insurance policy at point guard. They won’t have to rush Shane Larkin or Gal Mekel into playing significant minutes if one of the rookies isn’t ready for the backup role.