The Dallas Mavericks are prepared to admit failure with the Rajon Rondo trade. Owner Mark Cuban originally believed that the mid-season deal for the point guard was not a short-term scenario and the team would offer a max deal in free agency. However, coaching issues and production dips have caused Rondo to be on bad terms with the franchise a likely not return. That will leave Dallas without a star point and searching on the open market once again.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Rondo is not expected to return to the team next season. This likely does not come as a shock to any of the Mavericks' fan base considering his roller coaster season ended on very bad terms. This leaves Dallas' backcourt up in the air since Monta Ellis has a player option he is expected to opt out of. The Mavericks are left with Raymond Felton who also has a player option and Devin Harris who is a lock to be back. Despite the uncertainties, the Mavericks front office is not worried.
"In this day and age, with the advent of free agency, you can get things back to the way they used to in pretty quick order," President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, via the Dallas Morning News. "Certainly, the focus for us is going to be in the locker room, getting our guys under contract. There are some interesting prospects this summer. We'll have max flexibility to go out and sign a player, if need be. We certainly like the fabric of the locker room and the chemistry that was in there, for the most part. We've had success 17 years with that, and I don't look for there to be any changes there."
Chandler Parsons told the media that he plans on going into full general manager mode in the offseason and help recruit players down to Dallas. That begins with Patrick Beverley who is a restricted free agent with the Houston Rockets. The point guard told the media that he hears from Parsons almost every day about the situation.
"I hear from Chandler every day. It's hard, but I try not to think about it. I can't talk about contracts. It's going to be a fun summer. I have put myself in a position to be set for life and that's something that I never thought was possible growing up," Beverley said, via the Houston Chronicle.
Yahoo! Sports believes that Goran Dragic will be a big priority for the team as he prepares to demand a max contract. LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol are also options if Tyson Chandler is not re-signed this offseason.