[Underdog]

Continuing MacMahon's CP3 series...

Plan CP3: Can Mavs sell a potential supporting cast?

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Here’s where the Mavs have to make a heck of a sales pitch.

It wouldn’t be difficult for the Mavs to create enough cap space to give Chris Paul a max deal while keeping Shawn Marion and Vince Carter. That might give the Mavs a chance to be competitive next season, but the opportunity to play with a couple of savvy veterans with expiring contracts isn’t going to convince Paul to leave Los Angeles.

To have any hope, the Mavs must make Paul believe in their ability to build a legitimate contender around him next summer. And that’s where the dollars difference between Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin might matter.

Nowitzki is on record as saying he’ll take a “significant pay cut” when he re-signs with Dallas next year, which guarantees that the Mavs can be major players again in the 2014 free agency market. Griffin’s five-year max deal kicks in next season, starting with a $13.7 million salary that increases by a little more than $1 million each year.

Worry about the semantics of what “significant” means if you wish, but Nowitzki has made it clear that his salary won’t get in the way of the Mavs making major upgrades after his current contract expires. The Clippers won’t have nearly as much flexibility with two max players plus center DeAndre Jordan due to make $21.4 million over the next two seasons.

It’s not enough to get Paul to envision the personnel possibilities in Dallas. The Mavs brass has to get CP3 excited about them. It’s a virtual lock that Dallas will be a preferred destination if Paul is running the point and the Mavs have ample cap space.

Hey, did you know CP3 and LeBron James (who can opt out of his contract next summer) are great buddies? Too far-fetched? OK, how about DeMarcus Cousins coming to Dallas as a restricted free agent?

The Clippers have a couple of complementary talents in addition to Griffin already locked up. You can argue that Jordan is overpaid, but he’s a young big man with freakish athleticism. Jamal Crawford, who has three years remaining on his midlevel deal, is a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

The Clippers also have a couple of assets that could be extremely attractive in the trade market this season: restricted free agent-to-be point guard Eric Bledsoe, who is stuck as Paul’s backup but good enough to start for a lot of teams; and the $8 million expiring contract of Caron Butler.

The Clippers’ supporting cast looks better on paper. The Mavs leave a lot more room for the imagination.

EDGE: Clippers, unless Mark Cuban manages to convince CP3 otherwise.

Plan CP3: How much does he value L.A. legacy?

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Both of these franchises used to be NBA laughingstocks.

The Mavs have since earned a reputation as one of the league’s best franchises. They were one of only three franchises in NBA history to reel off 11 consecutive 50-win seasons, making a pair of Finals appearances and winning one title during that span. That type of success demands respect.

The Clippers, meanwhile, have a grand total of one 50-win season in franchise history.

Granted, that was last season, when Chris Paul led the Clippers to a 56-win campaign. That came on the heels of a .606 winning percentage in the lockout-compressed 2011-12 season, when the Clippers won a playoff series for just the second time in franchise history.

The Clippers’ tradition is terrible, but CP3 has a ton of sweat equity in the franchise’s glory days. How much does he value the legacy of being the man who keyed the turnaround of Los Angeles’ other basketball team?

If Paul joins the Mavs, he’s joining a franchise that has recently been to the top of the mountain and plans to return. Dirk Nowitzki would willingly pass the baton as franchise centerpiece, but Paul would be attempting to live up to standards set in Dallas during Dirk’s Hall of Fame career.

With the Clippers, CP3 sets the standards. He’s the guy who saved that franchise from being a long-running basketball joke.

EDGE: Mavs, although Paul could have a major emotional investment in trying to finish the job in L.A.