http://tinyurl.com/o62yrz4 At 11 p.m. Monday night, it officially becomes crunch time for Mark Cuban. It’s time to execute. Just like when Dirk Nowitzki has to make a buzzer-beater, the Mavericks’ owner, along with president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, must perform. Free agency officially begins at midnight in the Eastern time zone, and the Mavericks’ first two orders of business are to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki and formalize their sales pitch to Carmelo Anthony. In that order. If the owner and president are showing up on anybody’s doorstep with flowers and chocolates at 11:01 p.m., it will be Nowitzki’s. They’ll also be on the phone to people in the camp of LeBron James. But as of now, according to a source, they have no assurances that James intends or even wants to talk to the Mavericks. Moreover, they are getting veiled messages that James is a virtual lock to return to Miami, where it’s likely that Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will take short-term pay cuts to ensure longer-term financial wealth and free up enough money for the Heat to pursue mid-level free agents. The Mavericks, meanwhile, already have a guarantee from Anthony that he will meet face-to-face with them. A source said it will happen this week and that Anthony’s decision would come perhaps on the weekend or early next week. That’s not all good news for the Mavericks. Yes, they are happy to have a meeting with Anthony, easily the second-best free agent on the market after James. No, they can’t really afford a long-term courtship. The longer they flirt with Anthony, the more time other free agents have to make decisions. In other words, a quick “no” from Anthony would be the second best option after getting a “yes.” So what do the Mavericks have working for them as free agency opens? Foremost, they have a pile of money to spend, although they probably can’t get maximum-contract money on the table to Anthony or James. They have to take care of Nowitzki first and if his salary starts in the $10 million to $12 million range, then that will reduce their available free agent money to somewhere in the $18 million range. That’s still close enough to a maximum contract to get a player’s attention, assuming he’s not in it simply for the money. If the Mavericks can convince Anthony that this is a great place to win big now — knowing that they will have money again next summer because of expiring contracts to pursue perhaps Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge — then sacrificing some money might not sting so much. What the Mavericks know is that they are in better shape now than they were a week ago. The trade for Tyson Chandler not only brought in a key piece and one of the league’s best defensive centers, but it also jettisoned Jose Calderon, whose contract was going to inhibit roster movement for the next couple of years because he was due more than $7 million per season going forward. “The one move [Chandler’s acquisition] solved a lot of problems for us because we were top heavy on some of the contractual things going into the future,” Nelson said. “It cleaned up a lot of those things and made us an attractive destination in the here and now and in the future.” At least, that’s the hope. And, with Chandler on board, it means the possibility of going after Pau Gasol or Marcin Gortat — the two best centers on the free-agent board — diminishes greatly. That leaves the Mavericks chasing a small forward as the No. 1 free-agent priority after Nowitzki and, perhaps, Vince Carter and Devin Harris. The thinking is that Harris and Raymond Felton give the Mavericks a solid rotation at point guard. Monta Ellis commands most of the shooting guard minutes. That leaves small forward, where it rates like this: Anthony, Luol Deng, Trevor Ariza. As the starting gate opens, the Mavericks know they have to bolt forward as fast as possible and hope to close the deal. 明天自由市場開市 小牛計畫先續留Dirk 之後再開始招攬自由球員 Dirk薪水預計落在10~12M 小牛剩下的錢大約有18M 小牛計畫吸引"願意接受"非頂薪的球員 告訴他們達拉斯是個很棒的地方 若小牛沒吸到大魚 之後會嘗試補強SF --

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