[JJP]

Let's not misinterpret what I'm saying here.

We have money to get good players, but we have no playoff track record with which to attract them (as Boston did in 2008). We are going to have to be lucky because Dallas will not be the first choice of most FAs. Not Kemba, not Butler, not Thompson, not Durant, not Harris, not any star that I can think of.

But after all the shaking loose of money and free agents this summer, some good players are going to be available. The question will be how you sign them. There's not many "good" players I'm willing to sign to four-year contracts at max money now knowing that a huge number of stars will be available in 2021. The idea is to get a good team to get to the playoffs.

We are fortunate that we have the same people in place who built a championship around Dirks talent (work that took well over a decade). You want the best players, but you don't want to overpay with a long contract (Alan Crabbe makes almost 20 million a year on a 4-year contract) or a superstar that's aging like Chris Paul. But you can afford to overpay a little for a one-year contract.

What I'm saying is that if you signed JJ Reddick on a one-year contract, that's not a necessarily a failure. That might be the best you could do this year. That's a perfect player on a one-year contract until you can find the better player. You sign two or three players like that, and you have a good shot at the playoffs.

When Dallas won it all, Dirk and Jason Kidd were the super stars. Terry came off the bench. Tyson Chandler was on a one-year contract. Success for Dallas might be finding the next Shawn Marion this year - a veteran guy who was a complementary piece.

That's why having a conversation about Beverley makes more sense (and why he's an option over Brunson). I don't think Beverley will be a Maverick, but guys like that make sense in a realistic discussion. He is a veteran that has the right skill set and possibly the right salary. The same is true with guys like Dedmon.

So my expectations are to get to the playoffs this nest season. Acquiring veterans for this team is important to that end - and if we don't get lucky with a max-contract stud this season, we get good veteran players on shorter contracts. The 2011 NBA champs did they same thing with Chandler and Peja.