A lot of us were disappointed after the draft when Dallas didn't buy their way into the first round as Cuban suggested they might after the Kidd trade was made.  In some ways they accomplished the same thing with the Shawne Williams trade -- sending cash and 2nd rounders to Indiana for someone two years removed from being the 17th overall pick, still just 22 years old, and who would be entering his senior year with Memphis if he hadn't declared early.

And the 1.8 million Dallas sent to Indiana isn't exactly what it seems.  David Lord explains:

The Mavs actually save a few dollars, because now Jones' buyout cost is NOT taxable to them. (If they had waived him off the Mavs roster – apparently a real consideration had they not dumped him in this trade -- they would have paid tax on every dollar of it.)

As for Eddie Jones, he won't be reporting to Indiana.

No brainer.

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Art Garcia no longer writes for mavs.com, but is still doing stuff for nba.com.  Here's a good Mavs preview he did, and a blog post with some good Mavs tidbits.

Mark Cuban revealed last week that about half of the team wanted out if Avery Johnson returned. My unofficial research says Cuban low-balled.

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This is entertaining... (hattip to truehoop)

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Here's something to try and wrap your head around.  Dallas has signed Devean George to three contracts.

I'm not even a George hater and it still seems a bit crazy.  John Hollinger certainly doesn't get it.

...the Mavs' slavish devotion to limited veteran role players continues to leave me flabbergasted. Whether it's giving $23 million to Greg Buckner, using the biannual exception on Eddie Jones, or signing George to a third contract after his first two unproductive seasons in Dallas, it's as though they're more interested in finding players who were good in 2002 than finding ones who will be good in 2009.

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Shawne Williams has been told zero tolerance.

"They laid it on the table of what's expected – zero tolerance," Williams said Sunday. "We got a great group of guys, and I feel them on that. I wouldn't want anybody coming in here and ruining this program either. They've been honest.

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Jeff Caplan has an article on Diop's work in his home country of Senegal.

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New poll.

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Antoine Wright is optimistic he can get the starting spot when regular season rolls around.

"I'm really not penciled in yet – there's always an eraser," Wright joked. "Right now, I'm just trying to secure this position. There's still a lot left to do. But I feel good about it right now.

"[Defense] is what's going to keep me out there. Making shots, we got a lot of guys who can make shots. The most important thing is to have some presence on that end and be somewhat of a pest. That will keep me out there."

It's hard to make predictions with a new coach, but right now I've gotten his name written into the starting lineup with one of those erasable pens that don't really work.