2012 NBA Free Agents: Mavericks Must Go All Out to Chase Another Championship
The Dallas Mavericks' long-term plan for NBA title contention has been vindicated, to some extent, by a pair of close losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavs have managed to hang tough with the team that many have picked to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, even after parting ways with a slew of key contributors from last year's championship team, Tyson Chandler chief among them.
The true success or failure of Marc Cuban's master plan for domination in the NBA, though, can't even begun to be judged until the upcoming offseason, when Deron Williams and Dwight Howard come into play.
Williams is due to hit free agency for the first time in his career after spending the last season-and-a-half toiling amidst mediocrity with the New Jersey Nets. GM Billy King seems to think that he can convince D-Will to stick around for the much-anticipated move to Brooklyn, despite the team compiling an abysmal record of 29-62 since he arrived by way of a shocking trade with the Utah Jazz in February of 2011.
Would Williams—who will turn 28 in late June and is as eager as any star to put a ring on his finger—re-sign with the Nets to pursue a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Gerald Wallace as his top sidekick?
Surely not if his hometown Mavericks come calling with a max contract and the opportunity to team up with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion in tow. They'll have the cap space to do just that, especially if/when they decline team options on Lamar Odom and Vince Carter.
That would give Dirk a truly elite point guard with whom to play out the string of his Hall-of-Fame career, and it would give D-Will a supporting cast with whom he can chase a championship or two.
It would also put Dallas in position to add Dwight Howard to the mix, via trade or free agency. Granted, the Mavs don't have the assets to coax the Orlando Magic into parting ways with their franchise center, though they may have no other choice after the firestorm of controversy of which he's been the focal point since November.
However, should Howard hit free agency in 2013, and the Mavs opt to exercise their amnesty provision on Brendan Haywood's bloated contract, then a long-term marriage between the two may be in store. Such might still require Dallas to move Marion, who has two years left on his deal after this season, though GM Donnie Nelson is creative enough to get that money off the books, too.
Bringing such a mighty mix of superstars to the Metroplex and making Big D even bigger with three of the biggest Ds in the NBA will require plenty of careful planning, along with time and careful effort with which to execute it.
But after letting Tyson Chandler go and taking a mulligan on the lockout-shortened season, the future of the Mavs will be riding on it, beginning with the much-anticipated courtship of D-Will this summer.
