Art Garcia | Mavs.com
Posted: June 30, 2008

The Christmas Shopping Season officially begins the day after Thanksgiving. The NBA’s version tips off about five months earlier. Once June becomes July on the East Coast, the frenzy begins for teams looking to upgrade with other teams’ players.

The Mavericks, like everyone else, are set to begin negotiating with free agents at midnight EST. Deals can’t be signed until July 9, when the moratorium period concludes, but you can expect agreements between players and teams to become public as early as Tuesday morning.

Much as last week’s NBA Draft, the Mavs have their wish list in place. The strategy going into the Draft centered on realistic options with the 51^st pick. Shan Foster, the team’s lone draftee, was one of three best players that the team felt could still be available late in the second round.

Free agency functions much the same way. The Mavs have about as much chance at signing Gilbert Arenas as drafting Derrick Rose. The trick is being realistic, especially with only the mid-level exception of about $5.5 million to spend. An option to work around the mid-level is a sign-and-trade with a free agent’s current team. In any event, the Mavs hope to come to agreements quickly.

The Mavs free agents are: Devean George, Antoine Wright, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire, Malik Allen, Tyronn Lue and JJ Barea. All are unrestricted free agents except for Barea. The Mavs have the right to match any contract offers for the reserve point guard. Eddie Jones exercised his player option to return next season.

“We’ve got more scenarios than you can shake a stick at,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “We’re ready to jump into it at 11 o’clock our time. The emphasis is to get the best that you can for the slot. You can split it or go for one.”

The team could elect to spend the entire mid-level on one free agent or divvy it up among several. Nelson expects centers and point guards to be valued at a premium. The bidding for shooting guards and small forwards won’t be as competitive.

“It’s a real deep 2/3 class,” he said. “There are lots of 2s and lots of 3s. There are not a lot of 5s and not a lot of 1s. That’s why you’re seeing certain guys commanding the full mid-level.”

The Mavs have plenty of roster openings, with depth needed at every position other than power forward. Rick Carlisle sees that situation as a positive going into his first season as coach.

“It’ll be similar to my second year in Detroit,” Carlisle said. “We had eight new guys on a 15-man roster. The good news was two of them were Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton.”

Other than a blockbuster trade, bringing in the likes of Billups or Hamilton isn’t likely over the next week. That doesn’t mean impact player(s) can’t be found. Spending wisely is crucial.

“It depends on the situation, but one thing is for sure: We cannot miss,” Nelson said. “Whatever the right combination is or single guy, it’s got to be something where we get the most value for the exception.”