How about this scenario--and I'll admit, it's far-fetched.
Mavs don't pick up options on Josh, JJ, or Damp. Dirk opts out. Najera is waived or bought out, and Quinton Ross doesn't exercise his player option. Mavs salary commitments are then at $34 million for next year--so, depending on the cap, somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 million in cap room, enough to make a max offer (and let's not forget, with no state income tax, a Dallas max offer is worth more than a NY max offer).
So the Mavs make a max offer, to say Lebron or Wade or Bosh, and that player is willing to accept it. One of two things can happen--either the player signs outright, or the Mavs have more leverage to force a S&T (perhaps for Josh & Damp & JJ) so the other team doesn't end up with nothing.
If the other team plays ball, then we get our Sammy Superstar, and re-up Dirk for the max. If they don't, we give Dirk a one-year deal for either the minimum or whatever cap room is left. Then, NEXT offseason, Dirk is a free agent again, and we use Bird rights to give him a max deal.
This would obviously require a big sacrifice on Dirk's part, if it were to work out that we actually used the cap room to sign someone else--but I bet he'd be willing to do that for the organization, and you know Cuban would take care of Dirk no matter what happened.
Let's say it's Bosh. We'd have a lineup of Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk, Bosh, with Beabois as our 6th man, the MLE to acquire another veteran presence in the frontcourt (bring Damp or Gooden back?), and fill out the roster with minimum salary guys like Tim Thomas & Quinton Ross.
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