"It's no secret that the Mavericks have thought Pietrus is the sort of player that would fit well in coach Avery Johnson's system. When he was a restricted free agent this off-season, the Mavericks made the obligatory calls to Pietrus' agent if for nothing else than to kick the tires.

Could Pietrus' start on Wednesday have been a chance to showcase him for the Mavericks? "

Eddie Sefko thinks so.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/010308dnspomavsdate.2db2ddc. html

Career avg 8.7 pts, 44% shooting.

Think Mavs are still interested?  Seems like Ju.Howard and Hassell are busts.  He definitely has athleticism in spades.

i was perusing articles about the mavs, and this really made me laugh.

"The last word: We'll head back to the Spurs third loss in four games, this one to the Grizzlies. Not only did Mike Miller have a season-high 31 for rookie coach Marc Iavaroni, but Rudy BLEEP hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer over Tim Duncan. BLEEP , coming off back-to-back 32-point games, finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks."

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Kahn_Games/2007/12/20/The_New_Age_of_NBA_aint_going_anywhere

I got curious after reading one of the articles Wes linked.  It talked about a video that showed on the Jumbotron during the game.  Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhmweV-XWmw

It's a star wars parody with Dirk and Nash.  At one point Dirk tells Nash, "we could have ruled the NBA together!"

HAHAHA. Gold.

Heard it this morning on the local radio station 1310 The Ticket.

He said a couple of pretty generic things.  One being penetration was the biggest complaint he had about Mavs right now.  He wants everyone to get to the rim more often; this is actually more important to him than defense right now. It's not by a huge margin, but it is more of a priority for him.  

This part is more entertaining. Apparently, he played quarterback and wide receiver back in the day. When asked who he thought would make the best transition to football, he said Josh Howard would be the most successful.  According to Johnson, Josh would be a spectacular wide receiver.  Also, he believes Brandon Bass would do well as a defensive end.  As to who would be the worst football player? Juwan Howard.

The interview made me chuckle.

Just saw this funny tidbit on Truehoop.  

"I just learned about an amazing play in which, after a jumpball, a certain NBA player drove to the wrong hoop and attempted to make a basket. He missed, in no small part because he was fouled by an aggressive and misguided defender, who was apparently eager to keep his own team from making two easy points."

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-28-375/When-the-Best-Offense-Would-Have-Been-No-Defense.html?p ost=true

Couldn't find a video on youtube anywhere, but it sure looks funny in my head.  Apparently, Chris Mills of the warriors had a nice easy layup on the Mavs basket, and Samaki Walker of the Mavs (also confused) decided to block his shot. =]

thinks management might blow the team up.

"Howard still believes these Mavericks are destined to win a title together, but confesses to a level of unease about the possibility of his bosses blowing up Dirk Nowitzki's supporting cast should they look like they're losing ground on the contenders.

"It's in the back of your mind," Howard confessed Monday night in a private moment at Madison Square Garden.

source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-mavericks121107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

what do you guys think?

According to ESPN's Chris Sheridan

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=coachcandidat es

Excerpt:

6. Del Harris
The silver-haired sage, a former head coach for three teams over 14 seasons, has told those close to him that he has the itch to be a head coach again as he spends his seventh consecutive season as an assistant for the Dallas Mavericks.