[j0Shi]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ey...ll-30-teams-do

DALLAS MAVERICKS
Key moves: Signed Jose Calderon (four years, $29 million), Monta Ellis (three years, $30 million)

Mark Cuban thinks they're better off without Dwight Howard. And if you believe that, then I'd like to tell you more about this great timeshare I have in the Oklahoma panhandle.

The Mavs dismantled their championship team from 2011 in order to make a couple of runs at prime free agents. In theory, it made a lot of sense. The team's window wasn't going to stay open long, so Cuban and company were trying to make the sensible decision to restock and make a new window by signing a new centerpiece to eventually take the torch from Dirk Nowitzki. It was supposed to be Deron Williams last summer, Dwight Howard and/or Chris Paul this summer. Swing and a miss.

So the Mavs were left once again to try and scramble pieces together to field a team worthy of Dirk. Incoming are Calderon, a solid point guard and Ellis, the most volume-y of all the volume scorers. The Mavs might be good enough to compete for a playoff spot. But they aren't going to be doing anything in the postseason, which for them, is supposed to be the goal.

Grade: D-

Grade is a bit harsh, but I agree that a first round exit is the probable outcome.