Really, it makes sense.

The Dallas Mavericks are interested in Jeremy Lin and considering a couple of factors, it's kind of a no-brainer:

1. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry's contracts are up this off-season, so Dallas desperately needs a point guard
2. Dallas was the team that gave Lin his big break, letting him play for their summer league team which first got him noticed by NBA scouts, officials and GMs. So obviously Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban have much respect for Lin and his abilities.
3. Lin is young, athletic and still learning: precisely the kind of player the Mavericks need as their veterans continue to age past 30. He also gets into the paint. That's kind of a big deal.
4. Lin could provide a cheaper alternative if Deron Williams signs elsewhere.

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Playoff basketball is on every night now, but it's not quite the same as watching the Mavericks play. To help pass the long months awaiting us until the 2012-13 season starts in October, there will be a top 10 series running here on Mavs Moneyball. I'll start with the top 10 Performances from this season, followed by Games and Plays, each separated into two parts. Here is part one, featuring the 6th-10th best individual performances by a Mavericks player this season.

10. Jason Kidd against Golden State, 4/12/12

Statline: 9 points, 3/5 3PT, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Everyone knows Kidd is near the top of several all-time statistics, such as three-point makes, assists and steals. Here's another: most rebound-assist double-doubles. It's so Jason Kidd, to miss a triple-double because he did not have enough points. But in a way, that's how he stands out from the dozens of other players who have the same or greater skill set, but only care about how many times they put the basketball in the hoop. Kidd has always been one of the most unselfish players in the league, and as seen in this game, was simply doing whatever was needed to make his team win.

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Forgive Deron Williams if he seems a little testy.

The All-Star point guard has houses to sell, family all around the country and a little thing called the olympics to train for. The last thing he wants to do is answer questions about his pending free agency. From ESPN:

"I want to reiterate, I don't know what I'm doing next year," Williams said. "Still. Nobody does but me. Not even my mom, my brother, my uncle, my cousin. I haven't talked to anybody about where I'm going next year."

Not even your own mother, Deron? That's cold. So while for Dallas fans it might be nice that he hasn't said anything about New Jersey, he still has been irked about the Dallas rumors:

"I just hate that people think they know where I'm going, because I don't know where I'm going," said Williams, who isn't allowed to talk with other teams since he hasn't opted out yet. "So there's no way for them to know, or assume that I'm going to Dallas or that I'm staying here. I don't know. There could be another team that comes into the picture."

Welp. Sounds like Williams needs a little R&R and get away from reporters and just make a decision that's best for him. Oh wait, just because the Nets owner is from Russia doesn't mean he will instantly resign? Oh, Deron, tell me more!

"People say I'm staying here for sure because I went to Russia," Williams said. "Yeah, I went to Russia. I've never been to Russia. A.K. [former Utah Jazz teammate Andrei Kirilenko]'s been telling me to come to Russia for the last six years, so, I went to Russia. It was close to Turkey. I went to Turkey because I love Turkey, I played there for three months. I wanted to see my teammates. I wanted to check out some games, so I went to Istanbul."

OK, OK, we get it Deron. You went to Russia because you wanted to take up your buddy Kirilenko's advice. BUT WAIT, why are you going to Dallas then?!

Williams is going to Dallas later this week. Granted, he's just going to visit family.

"I'm from there," Williams said. "My mom lives there. My brother lives there. My aunt, my uncles live there. I'm going there to have my son's birthday party. I'm going Thursday through Tuesday."

Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense.

See folks, this basically proves that guessing where free agents are going to go before they're even allowed to talk with other teams is just silly. Between now and July 1, there are going to be a lot of rumors and most of them will be wrong. Heck, in this article Williams said there could be another team besides New Jersey or Dallas that emerges. We really don't know. Remember how everyone thought LeBron was going to New York? Or Dwyane Wade was going home to Chicago?

None of this means anything really. Just sit tight and countdown till July 1 rolls around. Until then, take everything with a giant lump of salt.

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Editor's Note: Front-paged for a change of heart

There's a first time for everything. And from the first time I laid eyes on the San Antonio Spurs, I hated them. Everything about them. It was Game 4 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals. I distinctly remember sitting in those nosebleed seats 45 minutes before the game watching Tim Duncan shoot free throws, and directing as much sports-hate as I could his way. It didn't work. The Mavs would lose that game 102-95 and the series, in part due to Dirk's high ankle sprain, but also because the Spurs could do no wrong.

Just think of their history these past 15 years. David Robinson got injured in the 1997 season, enabling an otherwise good team to tank and end up with a 20-62 record, which landed them No. 1 pick Tim Duncan. They dominated the '99 lockout-shortened season and faced the 8th-seeded Knicks in the Finals, the first and only 8 seed to make it to the NBA Finals. They drafted two future Hall-of-Famers -- and two of the greatest international players ever -- in Parker and Ginobili with the 28th and 57th overall picks, forming a core that has remained elite for an unheard-of 10 straight seasons. The Spurs got past the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the 2007 NBA playoffs after the league suspended Boris Diaw and Amar'e Stoudemire for 2 games for leaving the bench during an altercation. The Spurs rolled on to the NBA Finals and swept the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. Hell, even when the Spurs lost, they did so in spectacular fashion -- on a ridiculous Derek Fisher shot with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference second round (after Tim Duncan had just hit an incredibly falling-down 2 to give the Spurs a lead) and in an epic 2006 Western Conference second round series to Dallas in a Game 7 (that went to overtime courtesy of the greatest clutch shot Dirk has ever hit, bar none -- that beautiful and-one lay-up straight up the middle over the outstretched arms of Manu Ginobili).

More after the jump...

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