Mavs with Jeff Caplan

Mavs with Jeff Caplan
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Welcome to SportsNation! On Thursday, Dallas Mavericks reporter Jeff Caplan stops by to chat about the team.

Caplan covers the Mavericks, Stars and colleges for ESPNDallas.com. He joined ESPN in December 2009.

Send your questions now and join Caplan Thursday at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET!

Jeff Caplan
Hello again everyone and thanks for joining me today. Last we talked, the Mavs were ushered out of the playoffs in four games and set their sights on Deron Williams. We know how that went. Then Jason Terry and Jason Kidd left and the Mavs looked lottery-bound. But Wednesday's moves got Dallas off the mat and should make this an entertaining team to watch at the least. What do you think about the last two weeks? Let's find out.
Chris Fiegler (Latham,NY)
What Free Agents will the Dallas Mavericks sign this summer for the 2012-2013 season?
Jeff Caplan
To quickly recap: The Mavs are bringing in 7-foot center Chris Kaman and managed a sign and trade, sending Ian Mahinmi to Indiana for PG Darren Collison and SG Dahntay Jones. They are currently hoping to land the winning bid for amnestied PF Elton Brand. Delonte West remains on the market.
Jeff (Grand Prairie)
Jeff, is there anyone else besides Brand and Delonte West that you've heard that the Mavs are interested in?
Jeff Caplan
Well, the Mavs could really use a shooter with the loss of Jason Terry. Vince Carter is your best perimeter 3-pointer shooter on the roster right now and that could really hurt. Randy Foye remains out there, maybe a Jason Kapono, who could be a min. guy. The Mavs have $2.5M to spend on a player, perhaps to re-sign West and then only minimum contracts left to offer.
jfb (dfw)
Do the Mavs have any interest after yesterdays moves in OJ Mayo or CJ Miles?
Jeff Caplan
C.J. Miles was on their radar from the start of free agency, but that might be tough now. I think the Mav want to re-sign Delonte West, but that will depend on other offers West has and then Mavs can move on from there. Problem with Miles is what I just mentioned about not having any dead-eye shooters. Miles is definitely not that. As for O.J. Mayo, I am stunned no one has gone hard after him, but the Mavs don't have the cap space to sign him. Surely he'll get more than one year and $2.5M.
jfb (dfw)
Do the Mavs have any interest in Josh Howard?
Jeff Caplan
jfb..you tricked me, 2 questions back to back on a busy day...anyway, yes, Mavs did look into Howard, but always thought that was real long shot. I think draft pick Jae Crowder will get a shot to play behind Marion and Carter at SF and now that Dahntay Jones is here with Carter and maybe West and Roddy at SG, I think Howard would be out of the picture.
Brandon (Dallas)
Fast-forwarding to next summer, what do you think would be a realistic expectation for free agency acquisitions (in terms of getting some star talent to surround Dirk)? Everyone talks about Dwight and CP3 but I'm not optimistic there.
Jeff Caplan
Wow, Brandon, we're just getting started this summer and you want to get to 2013 already? Anyway, look, the good news for the Mavs is that Howard was not traded to Brooklyn. Had he been, he would not be a FA next summer. Now the Mavs at least have hope that Howard will get traded to a team that he will not want to re-sign with. He'll have to take a lot less money to join the Mavs as a FA, but that's the only way Mavs have a shot at him. Brooklyn can get back in the trade game in January, so we'll see if Howard is playing anywhere other than Orlando to start the season. As for CP3, I'm not optimistic that he will leave L.A.
gordonfrog (inet-backbone)
What's the plan on Brand? 1yr/10mil?
Jeff Caplan
Not that much. I think the Mavs have about $5 million or so to make a bid on him in the amnesty bidding process. If they win the bid, whatever they did bid is what the Mavs will have to pay him. The Sixers will owe him the balance of his $18.2 million contract. This is the final year of his deal. He becomes a FA next summer.
Jason (Dallas)
Do you expect the Mavs to use their room exception to sign Delonte West back or could they look to go in a different direction as they are in dire need of some perimeter shooting?
Jeff Caplan
Jason, exactly, they need perimeter shooting in a bad way. Carlisle likes the 3-ball and right now you ain't got it. West is a real nice mid-range shooter, and OK from deep. Darren Collison doesn't take a tremendous amount of 3s. I've thought all along the Mavs like West and he likes the Mavs. Not sure what other options he's looking at right now.
Casey (Northlake, TX)
Jeff, what's your take on Rafael Hettsheimeir? With the addition of Kaman and the Mavs aggresive play for Elton Brand (really?), I'm guessing they aren't bring the talented young Brazilian in.
Jeff Caplan
For those unfamiliar, he is a 6-10 Brazilian center that has been playing in Spain. A report out of Brazil the other day suggested the Mavs had made an offer for him. That's not the case, but Dallas has talked with him. At this point, I would not see him joining the team.
Victor (Venezuela)
Hi Jeff! Greetins from Vnzla. We follow the NBA here at my country. I'm Mavs fan. What are the chances to obtain a big star in the next free agency window. Is Dirk happy with the current situation of the team? Which are the plan from Cuban for the team? Thanks man. Following you on twitter.
Jeff Caplan
The odds of landing a superstar next free agency aren't high, lower than this year when the Mavs thought they had good chance to land the local guy, Deron Williams. Does Dwight Howard and Chris Paul make it to free agency? We'll see? If they do can the Mavs attract them. Have the Mavs put together a roster that now has pieces that can be traded for a superstar? I still doubt that. The plan is to keep cap space to go after a superstar. We'll see if that actually happens.
Jeff Caplan
Mike, I do even if it means one or two or all three spend some time or a lot of time in Frisco in the D-League. My pick to come in and contribute right away is SF Jae Crowder. He's a physical player and a hustler and can be an energy guy to spell Marion and Carter. Bernard James has the next shot because he's a disciplined defender and rebounder and the Mavs need both. Jared Cunningham has probably the highest learning curve trying to become a PG at this level.
Mike (Ft. Worth)
Do you expect all 3 rookie draft picks to be on the roster this year and are the Mavs expecting any contribution whatsoever from any of them?
Jeff Caplan
Ooops, sorry about that Mike...Thought I published your question, but obviously didn't. Hope everyone can follow that...OK, I'll get this straight from now on!
Bobby B. (Mckinney tx )
Are the Mavs a player in dwight sweepstakes? how will they fill 3 open roster spots.
Jeff Caplan
Bobby, no, the Mavs are not involved in any serious trade talks with Orlando for D12. They just don't have the assets the Magic want. As for the other roster spots, if they land Brand, which they expect to do, he'll make 10, plus the 3 rookies. Then possibly re-sign West or another shooter and then you can bring in a minimum veteran guy, maybe keep Brian Cardinal around.
JJ (Philippines)
Who will be the 2nd scoring option besides Dirk?
Jeff Caplan
JJ, Chris Kaman instantly becomes the second-leading scorer on this team when he arrives. Elton Brand will bring a nice mid-range game off the bench. Collison is a good penetrator and pick-and-roll player. You ask a good question though because as noted earlier, there is a real lack of perimeter shooting on this team and I think they really need to find somebody somewhere.
Justin (Florida)
Are the Mavs still holding out hope that they can land Dwight Howard next summer? Is that their best hope to land a true star with their financial flexibility?
Jeff Caplan
That's the hope Justin. We'll see if Dwight makes it to free agency. Even if Orlando trades him somewhere say Houston or LA Lakers or even Golden State, if Dwight is adamant about only re-signing with Brooklyn, those team can make a deadline deal with the Nets to get him there. Don't rule that out. Ultimately I think Dwight does end up in Brooklyn.
Sam (Adelaide, South Australia)
With a vague starting-5 taking shape, and Elton Brand on the radar. Have Cuban/Nelson spent wisely? Are there any "bad contracts" on our team at the moment?
Jeff Caplan
Sam, there are no bad contracts on the roster at all, unless you want to call Dirk's $20M in each of the next two seasons bad, which I wouldn't. The Mavs stuck to their plan of keeping cap space open to fit in a max free agent next summer. They have mostly one-year contracts, which was the plan. So, they have spent wisely if your plan is to land a superstar at some point. And that's their plan, so you can say they have spent wisely.
jason (new london tx)
ok i dont think letting heywood go just to replace him with chris kaman was a big up grade, trading ian was the right move. now if they land brand would this make them good enough to be a fifty win team?

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