Larry Brown Sports

Deron Williams reportedly has finalized his list of teams he’s considering in free agency to the Nets and Mavericks, but Dallas reportedly is worried that Williams is leaning toward re-signing with his current team.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports cites four rival executives and a fifth source in his report that the Mavs are worried that Williams isn’t planning to sign with them, even though they’re hoping they have a 50-50 chance.

The new CBA does them no favors either; the Brooklyn Nets can offer Williams a 5-year $100 million deal, while the best the Mavs can do is 4 years for $74 million.

The Nets have been going all out to try and retain their All-Star point guard, even getting him a billboard for his birthday. There were also two reports in May that said he was leaning toward re-signing.

If that’s the case — and it sure seems like it is — then we anticipate Dwight Howard will soon be joining him in Brooklyn. After all, even NBA.com expected that move.

Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Mark Cuban reportedly had a heated confrontation with Lamar Odom at halftime of the Mavericks’ game last Saturday, leading to Odom’s removal from the team’s roster.

According to ESPN Dallas, Cuban asked Odom if he was in or out with the team. Odom apparently was upset with the question and did not go to the Mavs’ bench until after the third quarter began. That exchange seems to explain why players and coaches did not want to discuss Odom, who had one rebound and no points, after the game. Odom did not play in the second half of the game.

It was announced on Monday that Odom and the Mavericks were parting ways for the rest of the season — a clear admission that the team’s acquisition of the forward did not work out well. Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle publicly supported Odom all season, and Cuban even met with Odom for pep talks. Clearly they had enough with Odom’s weak mind and lack of contributions for the team.

President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson phrased things the best, saying “We’re in our playoff time right here. We need to win games. We got to be able to look down that bench and count on folks to be consistent. Unfortunately with him in his state right now he’s just not capable of doing that.”

The Mavericks are in the midst of a 2-6 stretch since the All-Star break, and if Jason Terry‘s latest comments are any indication, emotions in the defending champs’ locker room appear to be boiling over. Following the Mavs’ head-scratching loss to the Kings on Friday – a day after he complained about being benched late in Thursday’s loss to the Suns — Terry talked about how the Mavs are in dire need of making an adjustment.

“It’s time for a change,” Terry said, according to ESPN Dallas’ Jeff Caplan.

“We’re not a team right now. … It shows, so until we become a team and play together on both ends of the court, we’re not going to be very good.”

The Mavs have fallen to seventh in the West, and any chances of them repeating as champs appear to be dwindling. But after they gutted their roster in the offseason to prepare for the upcoming free agency sweepstakes this summer, those chances probably weren’t very real to begin with. It’s obvious Dallas needs to make adjustments, but, with Deron Williams and Dwight Howard potentially there for the taking this summer, the long-held belief is that Mark Cuban is going to wait until the offseason. As for Terry, who is in the final year of his contract, it’s possible “the Jet” could be flying elsewhere next season.

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Photo credit: Kelley L. Cox, US Presswire

Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks are tied for the Southwest Division lead at 12-8. Though the defending champs haven’t looked like the best team in the NBA through the first part of the season, Dirk still believes his team is the favorite to reach the NBA Finals.

“I haven’t seen one team in the West that I’m scared of,” Nowitzki reportedly said Friday. “I really haven’t. I think we can compete with all of them.

“Oklahoma City has probably the best record, but I think we’ve played them well every time we’ve seen them and everybody else has been up and down.”

The Mavs have split with the Thunder this season, losing the first matchup on a last-second three from Kevin Durant, and winning the rematch at home by 13. Dallas also beat Oklahoma City in the Eastern Conference finals last year.

Despite Dallas’ 0-3 start, and Dirk sitting out some games to rest his knee and get into better shape, he’s right — the road to the Finals goes through the Mavericks. The only problem is the Thunder may be good enough to beat them this year.

Chest bump I am a GM

There has been so much chatter about the Dallas Mavericks’ championship rings, it’s somewhat surprising that we actually got to this point. Nine players from last year’s Mavericks team received their rings on Wednesday night in Dallas. Seven players are still on the team, while Peja Stojakovic, who is now retired, attended the ceremony. Former Dallas point guard J.J. Barea’s Timberwolves were playing the Mavs, so he got his ring as well.

Of course you’re wondering all about these bad boys, so we have the details via the Star-Telegram.

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Tyson Chandler is one of the players the Dallas Mavericks let walk in free agency. Dallas would have loved to re-sign him, J.J. Barea, and Caron Butler, but they had to spend wisely given the new luxury tax rules. The Mavs could be saving their money to make a run at Dwight Howard and Deron Williams next year, but the approach is hindering them this season; they’ve suffered two blowout losses. Chandler, now with the Knicks, says he saw it coming.

“Yeah, honestly, I kind of saw it coming because when you put a team in a situation where you say, ‘You’re the defending champions but we’re not necessarily trying to repeat.’ When I say that, I’m not saying they don’t have the pieces there — I obviously think very highly of those guys,” Chandler said. “I say that because they offered everybody one-year deals, so they knew nobody was going to necessarily accept that. You’re basically telling all the players in the locker room, ‘We’re playing for free agency next year,’ after a championship.

“You’ve got veteran guys in the locker room. In this time in their career, it’s tough to face that. They’re going through a little lull right now, but I’m hoping for those guys that it turns around because there’s truly good guys in that locker room.”

In the past, Mark Cuban probably would have spent to keep Chandler and Barea, while still making a run at Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. Now that rules have changed, he can’t. Whether they land those two superstars next offseason will help determine if this year’s frugal approach pays off.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said after his team won the NBA title that championship rings are done and that he wanted to take the tradition to the next level. We’ve seen plenty of ideas ranging from statues to private islands, but our personal favorite is mini-giraffes. And if Cuban is planning to take it to the next level, he better be going exotic with his idea. As it stands, the notion that he’s just going to get the team bracelets is pretty weak.

Speaking on PTI Tuesday, Dirk Nowitzki agreed. “I’m an old school guy and when he brought that idea up I think the whole team was a little dumbfounded,” Nowitzki said. “I don’t think the last word has been spoken there. I think he was thinking about a bracelet or something but the ring is just so classic and everybody I think wants a ring.”

In separate yet related comments, Dirk said “I’m a man, I don’t know how I’d feel about a bracelet.”

Coach Rick Carlisle expressed a similar sentiment saying “It’s got to be rings. I don’t know what [Cuban's] thinking. You win an NBA championship, you gotta have a ring. If he wants to give guys something else (in addition to) a ring, that’s great.”

I’m in agreement with what Carlisle said. Cuban can get his team something else, but he should also get them rings. And if he’s making this big of a deal over bracelets as Dirk intimated, then I’d be really disappointed. That’s not next level, that’s poker stuff. When we think of Mark Cuban and next level, we think of private islands, customized cars, and heck even NBA franchises. There’s no way he’s going to do bracelets, so the suspense is mounting.