Waiting Could Be Costly

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Q: Why won't the Mavs extend Josh Howard now rather than playing games with him? Also, will they ever get an athletic power forward to play behind Dirk? It seems like they always come up with a Dirk clone.

SEFKO: We got a slew of these questions, so we might as well knock them out at the same time.

As for Dirk, I presume by clone you mean a big white guy to play like Dirk. There's some relevance to that theory. The Mavericks' offense is built around the power forward (Nowitzki) being able to hit shots from the perimeter. If the guy who fills in 10 minutes per game for him can't do that, the entire attack must be altered.

I would say, however, that they do have an athletic power forward on the team. Pops Mensah-Bonsu can bring the athletic game around the basket. He just can't shoot.

In Howard's case, Cuban believes it's good business to get employees out of their comfort zone, to have a carrot (financial or otherwise) dangling in front of them to bring out the best of their abilities. That's business 101.

But not every employee needs an incentive to perform his best. I would like to see the Mavericks offer Howard $48 million over five years and see if the thing could get done. That's a starting salary of $8 million with 10 percent raises each year. It's not a cap-breaker for the team. And it sets Howard up for the prime of his career.

By the way, a contract starting at $7 million per year would add up to $42 million over five years.

But don't expect to see either of those any time soon. I suspect this negotiation won't happen until next summer when Howard's a restricted free agent. And then it will cost the Mavericks six seasons instead of five. </div>

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