Raid and plunder. That's what NBA teams do when free agency starts while also trying to make sure they are not raided and plundered.
The second part of that equation led Mark Cuban to New York on Tuesday evening, waiting for the clock to strike midnight so he could begin convincing Jason Kidd that the Mavericks remain his best option when it comes to finishing out his storied career as a fixture, not a rent-a-player, and still keep a reasonable chance at a championship. Not next season, necessarily. But before he officially calls it quits.
This shows the Mavericks are taking the prudent, if not splashy, course during free agency. Keeping Kidd isn't the ultimate piece that will make this off-season an unqualified success.
However, losing him would leave Antoine Wright as the last asset standing from the Devin Harris trade of 16 months ago. Cuban would tell you - and has, by the way - that the Harris trade is eons ago. He'd also point out that the New Jersey Nets weren't even close to the playoffs last season, even if Harris was an All-Star.
But if Kidd were to leave for the mid-level exception in New York or Cleveland, the Mavericks would be left searching for a point guard and with very few alternatives.
The Knicks are expected to begin wooing Kidd sometime today. And a phone call from Cleveland's LeBron James is not unexpected. By then, Cuban will have laid out the Mavericks' game plan to Kidd in financial and strategic form.
The smart money is on Kidd remaining a Maverick . If he does, it opens up more opportunities for the Mavericks to make pitches to other teams' free agents. And the landscape was changing by the minute Tuesday.
Milwaukee did not extend a qualifying offer to forward Charlie Villanueva, who averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. The 6-11 forward plays the same position as Dirk Nowitzki, but at seven years younger, Villanueva could provide a nice companion piece to Nowitzki, who plays power forward differently than just about everybody else.
Might the Mavericks get the Bucks' attention with the expiring contract of Jerry Stackhouse and one (or more) of their players whose contracts end in 2010 (Erick Dampier or Josh Howard)?
Such a sign-and-trade would be a way to get Villanueva as much money as Detroit could offer and more than Cleveland could. Surely it's an option worth exploring.
Along with Villanueva, the Mavericks are expected to look at Rasheed Wallace, Anderson Varejao, Trevor Ariza, Shawn Marion and Ron Artest, given what's happened in Houston with Yao Ming's ankle injury. And there certainly will be others.
But it all begins with Kidd, who really has a simple choice, although it may not be easy. He can go to New York, where he has family and a home, but will have to take the mid-level exception, probably between $5 million and $5.5 million.
He can stay with the Mavericks and make perhaps $10 million to $15 million next season.
Or he can facilitate a sign-and-trade to Cleveland, New York, Portland or somewhere else, which would at least give the Mavericks something in return.
