As andytobo pointed out on the front page -- by way of Mike Fisher -- the Mavs are reportedly considering submitting an offer sheet for Roy Hibbert, the All-Star center who helped the Indiana Pacers make it to the second round this year.

Don't get excited though, fellow Mavs' fans.

Here's the breakdown of the Pacers' salary situation other than Hibbert (http://hoopshype.com/salaries/indiana.htm):

Danny Granger -- $13,058,606

David West -- $10,000,000

Dahntay Jones -- $2,900,000 (player option)

Paul George -- $2,574,120

Tyler Hansbrough -- $3,055,259

George Hill -- $3,079,466 (qualifying offer)

Darren Collison -- $2,319,344

Lance Stephenson -- $915,243 (team option)

Jeff Pendergraph -- $854,389

Total: $38,756,427

This total, as I've laid out, assumes that Dahntay Jones picks up his option and that the Pacers pick up Lance Stephenson's option and re-sign George Hill for his qualifying offer. There's a possibility George Hill could make a little more if another team gives him an offer sheet, but we'll just stick with these numbers. This would be the absolute most favorable scenario for the Mavs, but the Pacers could have a few million more in cap room if they let George Hill and Lance Stephenson walk.

The cap will probably be around $60 million so Indiana figures to have $21 million or so in cap room at minimum, which isn't significantly different from the Mavs -- we currently have around $41 in committed salaries but it will go down by $8 million if we amnesty Brendan Haywood and we could get out of the $2.4 million owed to Lamar Odom if we trade him this summer.

Now let's look at how much Hibbert can make. I normally don't trust Wikipedia too much, but here's their breakdown of the CBA rules on maximum salaries:

The maximum amount of money a player can sign for is contingent on the number of years that player has played and the total of the salary cap. The maximum salary of a player with 6 or fewer years of experience is either $9,000,000 or 25% of the total salary cap (2010–11: $14,511,000), whichever is greater.

Obviously, Hibbert has played fewer than 6 years. 25% of the total salary cap (assuming it's $60 million) is $15 million, so it appears that's Hibbert's max salary this summer.

Since Indiana is set to have nearly as much cap room as us ($20 million plus), they are perfectly set financially to match any offer Hibbert will receive, no matter how high.

So, in the end, doesn't look like the Mavs' have any realistic chance of signing him. Anything is possible, I guess, but don't get your hopes up...