It's hard to remember now, but the Delonte roller coaster this season was quite a ride. At first, no one expected much of him, then were pleasantly impressed by him, then, when he got injured, at first barely worried, then, as the team slid down the standings, assumed he was the key to Mavericks success.

And now almost no one is talking about bringing him back.

Some Delonte West facts: Delonte is a 7 year veteran in the league, with career averages of 9.7 points, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.7 turnovers. He is a career 45% shooter from the floor and 37% from three. He is just 28 years old, and rumor has it that J-Kidd would often sniff his tendons in practice, then comment on "that (comparatively) new car smell".

The most money Delonte has made in his career is 4.2 mil in 2009-2010. He played for under 2 million in both 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. While it's clear he considered this year to be his audition for the league, which he feels, not unfairly, has deigned not to pay him because of his mental issues more than his play, as well as still present injury issues.

His good performance last year will certainly earn him a salary bump this year, but 1) it's not like he set the world on fire, 2) the injury bug was still there, 3) there were enough little things--like the "Wet Willy"--to make teams nervous about his long term stability even though it's relatively clear that West is, mostly, a sweetheart with a condition that is relatively well managed.

In other words, he figures to be a cheap, young, but experienced option at a position the Mavs are thin at (either the 1 or 2), that can potentially be had for something like 16 million over 4 years, or some part of the MLE.

What do you think?