2012 NBA Free Agents: Dallas Mavericks Need to Go All-in on Deron Williams

The end is rapidly approaching for the Dallas Mavericks' 2012 season, and the team needs to start thinking more about how they are going to sign Deron Williams this summer.

After an embarrassing collapse at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team trails 3-0 and is one game away from elimination.

Williams seems like a natural fit for the Mavericks, as the star point guard attended high school in The Colony, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

Owner Mark Cuban and general manager Donnie Nelson have done an excellent job strategizing for this summer and will have plenty of cap space to sign a big-name free agent.

The planning started when the team opted not to re-sign Tyson Chandler and continued this December with an inconspicuous trade involving Rudy Fernandez that saved the team $5.2 million in cap space. 

The move prompted this tweet from SI.com reporter Chris Mannix:

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"Mavericks are clearly going all in for Deron Williams and the summer of 2012. Still have amnesty, could be more than $20 mill under the cap[.]"

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However, Dwight Howard's back surgery will decrease his value, and make Williams the most coveted free agent this offseason. Every team will be interested in the point guard on some level.

Dallas may be the front-runners to sign the All-Star at this point, but all the big-market teams with the exception of the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls, who are set at point guard, will be looking for a way to clear cap space for Williams.

Cuban and Nelson are going to face stiff competition in the race to sign Williams, and if the Mavs hope to stay competitive in the future, this is a move that must happen.

Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Vince Carter are all 33 or older.

This group cannot sustain their level of play for much longer. This is painfully evident in the series with OKC.

The look on Mark Cuban's face at the end of the game last night said it all. 

This team needs to be blown up and rebuilt around Williams and Nowitzki. With those two as the core of the roster, the Mavericks will be one of the best offensive teams in the league, regardless of who their teammates are.

Both players are skilled and smart. If Nowitzki sets a high screen for Williams, there are just too many different ways the two could score from that position. That duo would be impossible for opposing defenses to guard.

With the possibility of making that one-two punch a reality, the Mavericks' front office needs to pull out every trick they have this summer to sign Williams.

From cutting players to spending lavishly during Williams' visits to Dallas, Cuban and the Mavericks must do everything within their power to sign Williams this summer. The team's future depends on it.