AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Just like last summer, this is shaping up to be a very busy summer for the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs are still in search of a top-flight talent who will make Dirk Nowitzki the team's second-best player. But whether they can lure Dwight Howard, Chris Paul -- or any superstar -- to Dallas remains to be seen.
"The challenge is the same annual things since I got here,'' said Donnie Nelson' the Mavs' presdient of basketball operations. "Whether it’s through the draft, trade or free agency, to get the most and
right kind of talent and give the talent an opportunity to come together.
"And hopefully there’s not too much change. But that’s part of our industry, especially with
the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement).''
No one knows all of the nuances of the CBA, other that the super tax will prevent a lot of teams from being a major player in the free agent market. But Nelson believes the Mavs have done their homework in regards to the CBA and are in position to sign a quality talent or two.
Meanwhile, if the Mavs do the unthinkable and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000, why would they bring this same collection of players back next season and expect different results?
Also, when asked whether any of the current soon-to-be free agents on the Mavs' roster will be back for opening day next season, Nelson wasn't prepared to commit to that.
"It’s really hard to say,'' Nelson said. "Any free agent, when the summer hits, we’re kind of both in the same position.
"There’s opportunity for them in the market place and there’s opportunity for us in the market place. It's really hard to put your finger on that.''
Nelson is sure the financial flexibility that the Mavs have will give them a leg-up towards finally landing that big fish.
"We’ve got flexibility, and in the past we’ve been opportunistic and it’s played well for us,'' Nelson said. "We put two teams in the (NBA) Finals that shared only two common players (in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry).
"We’ve had a pretty good history of having flexibility and being opportunistic relative to putting teams together.''
-- Dwain Price
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@dwainprice
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