The Los Angeles Lakers are planning to go hard after their big man in Dwight Howard when he hits the market and with the Clippers signing point guard Chris Paul to a $107 million contract, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks may decide to sit this free agent run out while they wait another year for names like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony to hit the market.
The Mavericks are rumored to be a team that Howard would possibly play for, along with the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets and while the team is interested in signing him, depending on how the free agent period shakes out, they could decide to wait instead. Howard will want a huge deal and after winning the title two years ago Dallas has trimmed its payroll while looking for the next move to make. The team likely won't go after Paul, but if for some reason the deal doesn't work out between the point guard and the Clippers, the Mavericks could swoop in to give themselves a new version of Steve Nash.
The Clippers made their head coaching decision based on what Paul's wishes are and after getting rid of Vinny Del Negro that looks even more clear. Paul and the Clippers played a tough series against the Memphis Grizzlies and were eliminated in Game 6 after the Grizzlies won 118-105 to finish the series 4-2 and Paul finished the game with 28 points and eight assists. Paul had an excellent season for the Clippers, averaging 17 points with nearly 10 assists and 2.4 steals per game, which was ranked first in the league.
The Clippers had their best season in quite some time and part of that had to do with the coaching ability of Del Negro, who appeared to get along with many of the players and played to their strengths throughout the schedule. The team decided not to give a new contract to Del Negro and decided that it would be best to move on despite a successful season and a division title. The team felt that the move put themselves in the best position to keep Paul, which is the number one priority for the franchise.
Donald Sterling has never been known to keep his word and after saying that he was optimistic about bringing the coach back, he kept that up and decided not to. Paul commented to reporters after the move that the team and Del Negro couldn't work things out and now the franchise will focus on doing whatever it can to bring Paul back into the fold. De Negro spent three years with the team and finished with a 128-102 record during that time and he brought the team to the playoffs twice, winning a series last year for just the second time since being in LA. The team also had a 17 game winning streak at one points, but the biggest issue may have been the collapse against the Grizzlies in the playoffs after the Clippers went up 2-0 on the team but then lost the next four games to lose the series 4-2.
Depending on what rumors say and what the two main players do, teams could wait out the free agent period in 2013 with Howard, Paul, OJ Mayo and Al Jefferson for the big one in 2014, when names like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony become available. While it could end up that those players sign extensions, a team like the Mavericks may wait it out one more year before making a push to sign one of those All-Stars.