http://tinyurl.com/n9ayrs One of the biggest fears for Mavericks fans this off-season is seeing a repeat of 2004. That was the summer of major reconstruction in which Steve Nash walked out the door for nothing in return. To quell your concern that Jason Kidd is heading to a similar fate, we are here to provide some literary Xanax for your stress. It's not going to happen. This time around, one of the NBA's top point guards is not going to leave the organization without some compensation. More likely, he won't move at all. The same cannot be said of Jerry Stackhouse, who probably has played his last game as a Maverick. But more on that in a moment. Of all the issues facing owner Mark Cuban, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle as the team tries to build its roster for the 2009-10 season, Kidd will be the top priority, even beyond the draft, which is two weeks away. Free agency opens July 1. Cuban will forever contend that losing Nash when Phoenix signed him to a huge free-agent deal was not a bad basketball decision. Judge that on your own. Still, Cuban maintains that getting something in return for a free agent is in the eye of the beholder. "I'm not big on 'Do you get compensation?' " Cuban says. "The reality is that having money available to spend on someone else is compensation." That's one way to view it. But even teams that don't want good free-agent players anymore usually find a way to jettison them and get something in return. Think Shawn Marion and Phoenix or Jermaine O'Neal and any team he's ever been with. And the Mavericks want Kidd. If he leaves, the Mavericks will have to scramble once again to rebuild much of their team. But where would he go? Cleveland, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers seem like the only teams besides the Mavericks that make any sense for Kidd. You can eliminate everybody else because they either aren't any good, have no money or both. That leaves either a sign-and-trade or the Mavericks re-signing Kidd. Cleveland has no money to offer beyond the mid-level exception, which won't get Kidd's attention. The Blazers have cash available, perhaps $9 million or so. And they have a young point guard, Jerryd Bayless, who would benefit greatly from Kidd's expertise. And yet, would Portland put Kidd any closer to a title? Not likely. And if the Lakers win this year's title, why would they need to acquire Kidd, especially when, with no cap space, it would require them shipping a rotation player in exchange via a sign-and-trade? They and Cleveland are in the same boat. "We definitely want to re-sign him," Cuban says. "But in order for him to be most effective, we need to add more scoring. That is going to be a priority for us, putting people who can score around Kidd to take the pressure off the guys we have now." So you can assume that, with their mid-level exception or in a sign-and-trade, the Mavericks are targeting someone who can put the ball in the bucket. Meanwhile, there will be no shortage of rumors, some believable, some outlandish. One you can discard is any move that brings Baron Davis to Dallas. Forget it. Not going to happen. Beyond that, there will be lots of offers to the Mavericks involving Stackhouse, whose contract makes him a value to many teams and a virtual certainty to be dealt this summer. There also will be conjecture about the Mavericks' draft situation. Moving up from 22 is a possibility. But it will take more than their pick and Stackhouse. It might also require Josh Howard or Erick Dampier, both of whom have contracts expiring after next season. No matter what, rest assured that the Mavericks' status as the clearinghouse for all trades will not change. --

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