Considering Dallas for 2010 Free Agents

It's gotten hard to keep track of every team in position to hand out a max deal next summer. Maybe we're too busy trying to figure out what franchise has a shot at securing the services of two All-Stars. However, here's a dark horse we'd better start considering: the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs have an $11.8 million dollar option on Josh Howard, which given his inability to stay healthy and contribute likely won't be picked up. That's a pretty good chunk of change. Then there's the player option built into Erick Dampier's contract that comes with major strings attached. If the center plays under 2100 minutes total this season, Dallas can drop him and the $13 million they'd owe him for 2010-11. If the Mavs could make one other move, such as trading Jason Terry this summer, they're in business.

Predictably, Mark Cuban isn't wasting the chance to get excited in public about this potential situation. From The New York Post:

"It doesn't matter," Cuban said. "With any top-tier player, when they have multiple choices for [maximum] money, it really comes down to where he thinks he has the best chance to win. That's up to each individual organization to convince him of that. New York is a great selling point, Miami is a great selling point, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis. Maybe he's a huge Elvis [Presley] fan."

How realistic is this? Dampier would have to play 25.6 minutes a game, for all 82, to reach that figure. So far, he's averaging 26.1, but has already sat out 8 games.Unless Dallas suddenly drops its platoon strategy at center, or a calamitous injury befalls Drew Gooden, there's a good chance the Mavs will be free of Dampier. The front office could also make a point of limiting his minutes just enough to make sure it's in the clear. It wouldn't affect the Mavs' season in any serious way, and while it might be a tad bit unethical, Dampier signed the contract. He had to realize this was a possibility if he wasn't playing up to an indispensable level.

This would mean -- take your pick -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or Joe Johnson -- alongside Dirk Nowitzki, on a deep, veteran team that's currently third in the West. Yes, Dirk himself is a potential free agent, but he's not likely to split, both because of who he is and where the Mavs are sitting. Dallas is in the ideal position among the max-contract suitors: They can win now anyway (something the Cavs can't say post-Shaq), and would be looking to this move to put them over the top. Granted, Jason Kidd isn't going to last much longer (even in today's wisely diminished incarnation), and Shawn Marion's not what he was. But the Mavs are ready. This also means that getting Johnson or Bosh would be as significant as it would for a non-team to land LeBron.

Most of all, there's the "alongside Dirk" factor. Nowitzki has caught his fair share of criticism over the years, but it's safe to say that pairing him with either an explosive guard or a dominant inside presence would one, make him even better and two, automatically turn the Mavs into a powerhouse. If the Mavs are the dark horse in the race for Bron, Wade, etc., then Dirk is the forgotten man in the two-superstar scenario.