Hubbard column: Mavericks have a devil of a decision to make

Although Greed holds a prominent position among the Seven Deadly Sins, there are times when it is a virtuous endeavor. Take the desire for multiple championships, for instance.

The Celtics have 17. The Lakers franchise has 16.

They want more.

In those cases, no one can argue – Greed is good.

Last year, the Dallas Mavericks played the 31^st season in franchise history. They were a little more than a decade removed from residing in the inferno of the ’90s – a period when they never managed a .500 record and had seasons of 11, 13, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 victories.

They  got their first title and it was a joyous affair – a resurrection of sorts, particularly for Dirk Nowitzki, who made fools of all those who stupidly claimed he was soft. Nowitzki and the Mavericks entered the playoffs with as poor of a reputation as any team that had won 50 or more games for 11 consecutive seasons could possibly have. It was popular to predict they would lose in the first round to Portland.

They didn’t.

Then they were supposed to lose in the second round to the two-time defending champions. Instead, they swept the Lakers in four games, sending Kobe Bryant into a funk and Phil Jackson into, presumably, the nearest monastery to meditate.

A young Oklahoma City team lasted five games and then the Mavericks became Cleveland’s (and most of the rest of North America’s) Team by defeating the Evil Empire known as LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

So now they are defending champions, an achievement chronicled nicely in a new e-book by Eddie Sefko, the Mavericks beat writer for the Dallas Morning News. One title, of course, is wonderful. Guarantee any team that hasn’t won a championship one trophy and owners, executives, coaches and players alike will sell their souls to get it.

But now, one more is not enough. They want many. Call it Greed if you must, but it’s all-consuming – and it creates a dilemma.

How best to get more than one? Bring back every player from last season and hope for a repeat? Or is there a better way that might lead to multiple championships?

There’s no question what the players want. As they began trickling into Dallas in preparation for the opening of training camp, they let their feelings be known. Veteran Jason Terry said he even became active during collective bargaining negotiations and urged the players association to reach an agreement for one primary reason.

“So we could bring our team back,” Terry said. “Make (the labor deal) so we could sign Tyson (Chandler) and bring back J.J. (Barea), DeShawn (Stevenson) and Caron (Butler). That was my main thing.”

Chandler, undoubtedly, is the most important of those free agents. The 7-1 center was the foundation of perhaps the best defensive team in Mavericks history and he’s still only 29 years old.

The Mavericks want to re-sign Chandler – but if you gave them the choice between Chandler this year and Dwight Howard next year, there is little doubt who they would choose. They would like to give Chandler, who made $12.6 million last year, a one-year deal so they can be major players in the 2012 free agent class that includes Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. But Chandler’s value has never been higher around the league, and even though he can get only a four-year deal with another team compared to five in Dallas, the money would be no comparison.

The problem with Chandler for the Mavericks is that he has had injury problems. In his 10-year career, he has missed 158 games. He played 74 games last season, but in the two years before that, he missed 66 of 164 games because of injuries. The nightmare for Dallas is re-signing Chandler, who gets hurt and the Mavericks then do not have cap space in 2012.

Chandler also does not want to sign and be trade bait. If he signed a five-year deal with the Mavericks, they could then execute a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic for Howard. But then Chandler would be in Orlando with no shot of winning another title. If he is going to sign with another team – and reports are there are many interested, including the Nets and Warriors – then why not be the one to choose it rather than letting the Mavericks dictate where he goes?

“I really think I’m going to be on a new team come training camp,” Chandler told ESPN.com last week. “I’m really taking a hard look at all of my options, trying to see what best suits me.”

Barea was also an important part of the championship team, starting the last three games of the NBA Finals and playing remarkably well. But at 5-10, he is a complimentary player – an excellent one, but not an overpowering one. Do the Mavericks sign him to a long-term deal and eliminate the possibility of signing Williams or Paul next year?

While players and many in the Dallas area are urging the Mavericks to keep the team together, they have short memories. Again, no one predicted a Mavericks title at any point last year – not before the season, the playoffs, the second round, the third round or the Finals. Well, maybe late a couple of people jumped on the bandwagon. But who do you think was favored in Vegas?

So bringing back the Mavericks intact guarantees another title? What about the Lakers, Heat, Celtics and Bulls? What about a San Antonio team that had the best record in the West last season but watched in horror as the left-handed Manu Ginobili suffered a debilitating elbow injury on his left arm in the 82^nd game of the season. Ginobili was able to play in the playoffs, but he was severely limited and the Spurs were upset in the first round by Memphis. The Spurs still believe if Ginobili had been healthy, they could have won their fifth title since 1999.

Ultimately, the Mavericks’ front office knows it must get better, not stay the same. Owner Mark Cuban and general manager Donnie Nelson will undoubtedly be influenced by the reality that Nowitzki is 33 and will turn 34 in June. He’s still at the top of his game, but the other side of the mountain is coming into view. The reality is the front office must plan for the post-Dirk era.

The bottom line is that no one should be surprised if the Mavericks choose a path that will not make them as strong this season in hopes of adding that premium free agent next season.

They have the freedom to do that because of what happened last year. Unlike in the past when there was pressure caused by the lack of a championship, they now have their first Larry O’Brien trophy. And as they found out, they didn’t have to sell their souls to get it.

Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years in between media stints. His columns appear every Tuesday on SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.