Sefko: If I'm Mark Cuban, here's Mavs free agents I'd try to re-sign ...

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Beat writer Eddie Sefko answered questions in a chat Tuesday. Here are some highlights.

Dimunitive Dribbler ... Why do I get the feeling that Dwight Howard's best days are behind him and he's little more than a journeman in-waiting? Because I'm stupid?

Eddie Sefko: Don't be so hard on yourself. I've been stupid most of my life and look where it's got me...OK, never mind about that. Howard is not a journeyman in waiting. He's still the best rebounder in the league, a good defensive player (great, still, at times) and if he makes more than half his free throws, his offensive potential goes up markedly. There are 29 teams who would take him.

Flip ... What is the status of Jared Cunningham now and beyond this season. Will he contribute in some way or is he as disappointing as Roddy is the last two seasons? Will he be traded or get a chance with Dallas?

Eddie Sefko: Can't imagine that he'd be traded now. His value is about as low as you can get, unless he is the final piece of a big trade. I was chatting with an Eastern Conference scout a while back and he asked why Cunningham can't get on the floor because when they were evaluating him, they thought he was a legitimate player who would be in somebody's rotation by the end of his rookie seaon. The injuries have hurt. He needs to get 100 percent healthy so he can show off some of that athleticism we've heard about. If he can do that, then he'll have a chance to crack the rotation next season.

Alan ... Of all of our expiring contracts, which ones would you actively pursue to resign with longer contracts? Of those, what would you think it would take to resign them?

Eddie Sefko: Given what we've seen during the good part of the season, Brandan Wright appears to me to be the guy you'd like to keep at a palatable number. If you can get him for something less than the mid-level exceptioin, then he's a bargain moving forward since it looks like his best days are ahead of him. Imagine if he were your backup at center and power forward and your center and power forward were Howard and Nowitzki. Or Pekovic and Nowitzki. Or Bynum and Nowitzki. Not bad, eh? After that, Mayo is the clear choice if you are going to spend north of the mid-level to keep any of these guys. If you could get him to agree to four years starting in the $6-7 million range...maybe four years for $30 mil or so. That would be sensible given the upside it appears Mayo has. Kaman is a goner, I'd say, and Collison wants something different (a starting role) than the Mavericks appear willing to offer. So cross him off. Brand would be great to keep around, but nobody would blame him if he tried to sign with a team a little closer to being championship material. As for Beaubois and Mike James, can't see either of them being a priority to keep.


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