With the addition of Rudy Fernandez, it looks like it’s time to say goodbye to Roddy Beaubois. As quick and talented as he may turn out to be, there’s no room for Roddy on this roster.

We have to make assumptions to have this conversation in July. So many free agents in Dallas remain unsigned. Here’s the list:

• JJ Barea

• Caron Butler

• Brian Cardinal

• DeShawn Stevenson

• Tyson Chandler

• Peja Stojakovic

It’s probably too much to assume Dallas re-signs all of these. I think we can count on Brian Cardinal because he’s cheap and loyal. Tyson Chandler will be prospect #1. Then JJ and Caron will be 2a and 2b. Peja and DeShawn may be left holding the bag, depending on outside offers. Peja should come relatively cheap to someone. DeShawn probably will want more than he’s offered, so it’ll be a question of pride as to whether he returns to Dallas for whatever they can afford to offer.

Look at the logjam at shooting guard:

• Rudy Fernandez
• Jason Terry
• JJ Barea
• Roddy Beaubois
• Corey Brewer
• Dominique Jones

Even if you move Roddy up to #3 on the shooting guard org chart, that leaves almost no time available. JJ is currently the #2 point guard and a the #3 shooting guard. Roddy is the #3 point guard and #3 or #4 shooting guard.

Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t care WHAT Donnie Nelson says, Roddy will NEVER a star point guard. It just won’t happen. He’s a natural shooting guard. He doesn’t see the floor or think like a point guard. Those are skills you can’t teach at his age. He’s made it as far as he has because he can beat anyone off the dribble and get to the hoop. That’s his skillset. That’s who he is. He’s less trained than Devin Harris, and Devin never had a chance at leading this team to any sort of victory.

The point is, if any other team is still intrigued with Roddy B, use him as a chip and get a deal done for a power forward, true point guard, or backup center to free up Haywood as a trade piece. As a top 15 center, Haywood could still combine with another player or two in a trade for someone of Deron Williams’ stature.

The Ben and the Skin are major Deron Williams homers. They grew up here. Deron grew up here. His high school team played against their high school team. Or whatever. He’s a home grown player and they’re drooling over the possibility of a free agent signing in Dallas next year.

There’s only one problem. There’s not enough cash to go around.

It’s a Money Problem

Either Dallas signs #1 Mavericks center of all time Tyson Chandler to an exorbitant contract or he goes to the highest bidder elsewhere. If he stays, there’s no room for Deron on the books. If Chandler goes, Dallas is a prime contender for the 4th best point guard in the league (Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Jason Kidd).

It doesn’t matter whether you have D-Will ranked as #2, #4, or #6. He’s probably about as high on the point guard list as Tyson Chandler is on the center list. Not the best, but you gotta get him on your team if you can.

Logic Doesn’t Always Apply

Yes, the Mavericks have a top 15 center in Brendan Haywood. But he doesn’t bring the amazing intangibles that Chandler does. And as Chuck Cooperstein said in his on-the-air bashing of Ben Rogers, you never trade a big for a small. Big man talent is much more rare than small man talent.

Yes, Deron Williams can easily score more and put up better stats than Tyson per game. But he doesn’t get your team to push beyond their comfort zones and sacrifice their bodies for the win. That’s a classic Tyson Chandler intangible.

I would L-O-V-E to have Deron Williams on this Mavericks team. Don’t get me wrong. If you put D-Will, Fernandez, Butler/Marion, Dirk, and Chandler on the floor, you WILL NOT LOSE. Plain and simple. But it’s not going to happen. Even if Dallas traded away Roddy B and Haywood, they probably couldn’t get the trade or the numbers to work.

We Haven’t Even Mentioned the REAL Problem

Dallas could very easily lose at both. Re-signing Tyson Chandler isn’t a lock. He could go elsewhere for more money. He’s never been paid like a rockstar. This is his time. But say Cuban could sign Chandler, but decides not to for the sake of POSSIBLY signing Deron Williams the year after. What happens when New Jersey signs Dwight Howard and D-Will decides to launch the new Brooklyn team? Dallas is out and the championship ride is over. Without heart and intensity down low, Dallas is a 2nd round playoff loser.

And THEN Jason Kidd will retire. Who is going to lead this team? Roddy B? Not a chance. JJ? We’re not even sure Dallas will re-sign JJ. They SHOULD. But they might not. JJ is going to get his best offers this summer as well.

Imagine a Dallas Mavericks post-championship team without JJ Barea or Tyson Chandler. Puff! They’re gone. You might as well not even play the season. Might as well sit this one out and hope for a top lottery pick.

But what if Dallas somehow got BOTH Chandler and Williams?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MN8JTYGDP8]

Around the 2:20 mark, you’ll see Deron break JET Terry’s legs off. Would be nice to have that here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoqYFeSpWro]

Part of the scene yesterday at the American Airlines Center at the end of the Championship Parade, they played the official DFW Digs Dirk music video before a crowd of 20k+.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xi5JnA6MkA]

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YidZFMprc8o]

After rehabbing like a madman, Caron admits to wishing the NBA Finals were stretched to Game 7 so he’d have a chance to play. It’s got to be tough to want a championship so badly and then have to watch your team win it without you. Here’s hoping Caron and the Mavs go back and repeat next year!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnHDbr9P1Y4]

Aaaaaaand… BREATHE! Mavs fans can finally exhale, knowing that Dirk is in the driver’s seat. Mavericks win Game 5, and head back to Miami today for Game 6 and Game 7 if necessary.

If I’m the Dallas Mavericks, I want to close out in Game 6. I give everything I have left to win it. Because it’s the only cushion they have.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyAM_pMkbjg]

Believe it or not, Kobe doesn’t think the world revolves around him. #stunned

I know, I know. We’re still in the heat of the playoffs. Round One. Mavs still have a chance to move on. But is it ever too soon to talk trades?

Six of the Mavericks 15 will be unrestricted free agents at the end of this playoff run. That’s almost half the team. So the question will be who to re-sign, who to trade, and who to let go. The Mavs have some serious holes, but contrary to popular belief, these holes could filled rather quickly if Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban would get one things straight: Dirk is NOT a power forward.

In fact, as long as Dirk is masqueraded as a power forward, Dallas has almost no physical scoring presence in the paint. Chandler can produce some, but he depends entirely on point guard play and put backs. In order to win a championship, Dallas must have two things: toughness and paint production.

Let’s be honest. Dirk is about as power forward-y as I am.

Maybe a “little” more. I don’t care how tall or slow he is. He’s a shooting guard. Let’s just accept it and move on. Once we’ve accepted this fact, we can see that Dirk is clearly our starting 2 guard, which leaves a gaping hole at power forward (like there wasn’t one already).

Dallas’ biggest mistake has been thinking that a shooting guard is needed instead of a power forward. Once we look beyond that mistake, we see that the path is clear: Acquire a scoring power forward who hustles and has heart.

The perfect solution? Kris Humphries. That’s right. He’s already slipped through our fingers once. Though Dallas wasn’t willing to trust Humphries with full-time PF status (because that is Dirk’s position!), he is more than capable… not to mention affordable. Humphries is actually a free agent, so Dallas doesn’t necessarily have to pull of any kind of trade at all. Re-acquiring Humphries is the smartest free agent play Dallas could make this offseason.

But since I promised trade talk, I’ll put the scenario in an even MORE appealing package. Ready?

Acquire: Deron Williams / Kris Humphries from the Nets

Dallas needs to come up with a plausible $18.2 million trade offer. New Jersey won’t like it, but if Deron Williams has ANY loyalties to the DFW area, he’ll want to join a better team and be closer to home and do something to make this trade happen.

Option A: Send Jason Kidd, Roddy Beaubois, and Shawn Marion to New Jersey. It’s a stop gap trade for New Jersey, but if Deron wants to go somewhere else, the Nets would be foolish to not get some value for him before he walks out the door.

Option B: Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler.

Mix and match ‘em however you like, Dallas needs the energy and penetration that both Humphries and D-Wil bring.

Jason Kidd is ready for part-time status. Despite some stellar playoff play, Kidd doesn’t have enough in the tank. He’ll have to save it for the playoffs next year. Deron Williams plays like a Chris Paul point guard / shooting guard combo anyway. He’s versatile enough to play beside Kidd if necessary. Williams brings the toughness and penetration Dallas doesn’t have from any guard on the roster other than Roddy B, who has proven completely unreliable at this stage in his development.

Deron Williams is a legitimate scoring threat as well as a tough-minded no-backing-down point guard. Williams can post up on most players and penetrate with the best. He doesn’t mind banging into defenders. With that kind of toughness leading the team and a sacrifice-body-for-the-team hustling power forward in Humphries, the Mavericks reinvent themselves as the tough SOBs you don’t want to face in the first round.

Tell me this starting lineup doesn’t have you ordering season tickets.

Starting Lineup for the 2012 NBA Champions

Deron Williams - PG (JJ Barea or Jason Kidd)

Dirk Nowitzki – SG (Jason Terry or DeShawn Stevenson)

Caron Butler or Shawn Marion – SF (Peja Stojakovic)

Kris Humphries – PF (Other or rotate Marion/Dirk)

Tyson Chandler – C (Brendan Haywood)

Ready, Naysayers? And…. Go!

Of course, this will never happen. Why? Because everyone from the guy next door to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon insist that Dirk at shooting guard is a defensive disaster waiting to happen. I contend that every current game is a defensive disaster waiting to happen with only one big on the floor at a time. Shawn Marion can cover SOME power forwards, but he doesn’t have the size to match up on the offensive end.

So where would you rather be weak on D? Out on the wing, or down in the paint?

Catch the recap of last night’s game right here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvVe7ndoNV0]

Are you ready for Game 5?

Four Mavericks are averaging double digit scoring this series: Dirk, Kidd, Terry, and Peja. All it takes is for one Mav other than Dirk to get hot (Peja, Kidd, Terry, JJ) and this game is over.

Check out the remix of Game 4 below. Get that epic collapse out of your system and get your head back in the game. I know you’re reeling. Shake it off.

If the Mavs win tonight, they only need to win one out of two games. Chin up! Put your game face on!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YneamUqN1w]