Mavericks center Erick Dampier: 'Hopefully I'll be here next year'

  PLANO – Mavericks center Erick Dampier  is working on his conditioning in preparation for next season. What remains to be worked out is where he will be playing.

Dampier said he wants to return for a seventh season with the Mavericks. But with a $13 million contract for next season not guaranteed, he knows that could be a long shot.

"I've enjoyed it here," Dampier said Tuesday. "It's been a great run, for the guys and for myself. I could continue playing with these guys and have a great career here. Come July 1, we'll all get together and see what happens and hopefully I'll be here next year."

 Mavericks should consider trading Dirk Nowitzki

 Much has been said about the future of Dirk Nowitzki. I can tell you this morning that he is going to leave the Mavericks. I say this without hesitation.

It's going to happen.

One day.

The fact that it doesn't have to happen this summer and almost certainly will not happen this summer should be of no comfort to owner Mark Cuban and Mavericks fans.

 Trade talk follows Dallas Mavericks to West Coast
EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

 The Dallas Mavericks got out of town Saturday evening, and the wild rumor of the day was that their plane to the Bay Area had been equipped with ejector seats.

The players, a few of them anyway, know they could be jettisoned at any moment. The Feb. 18 trade deadline is fast approaching, and with four losses in the last five games and a 9-10 record since Dec. 31, everybody is on edge.

 Mavericks' Josh Howard getting an A for attitude


By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

PHOENIX – Mark Cuban has a theory about Josh Howard's play this season. It doesn't have anything to do with whether Howard is starting or coming off the bench.

It has to do with attitude.

 Mavs interested in deal for Kings' Martin

The Sacramento Kings continue to insist that Kevin Martin is not going to be made available to interested teams before the Feb. 18 trading deadline.


The Mavericks, according to NBA front-office sources, continue to tell the Kings that they want a call back if that stance changes.

 Singleton stays with Dallas Mavericks, Buckner waived
EDDIE SEFKO

A busy Monday for the Mavericks started with retaining James Singleton, jettisoning Greg Buckner, finding out one of their new players has a knee injury and learning that there's now a familiar name on the waiting list to join the squad

 NBA PM: The Mavericks' Next Trade?


When the Dallas Mavericks' season ended at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban vowed that, economy be damned, he was going to add an All-Star and make sure the Mavs would be back with a vengeance in 2009-2010. On Wednesday morning, after hours of negotiations and sessions of numbers-crunching that would have given Albert Einstein a headache, the Cuban's front office staff delivered on his promise of a couple months go.

 Dallas Mavericks gamble they'll make noise in free agency
The movie production company that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's has a piece of put out a movie a few years back called The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Based on evidence gathered so far, it was not a do*****entary on the Mavericks' off-season.

 The Latest Dirk Nowitzki News
ESPN.com is reporting that Dirk Nowitzki is committed to staying in Dallas and is not interested in leaving the team to try to win a championship with a different team.

 53 Points is tops so far
Thursday night saw Maverics player Dirk Nowitzki score 53 points. This is the most ever by a Maverics player and the most points scored in a single game this season.