The Mavericks need more help at center for 2011-12, as Tyson Chandler is a restricted free agent.  As of right now, 32-year old Brendan Haywood would be the Mavs’ starting center.  He played in 72 games (8 starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 18.5 minutes, 4.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He has now played in 679 games (477 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  25-year old Ian Mahinmi would be Haywood’s backup in the pivot if the season started today.  Mahinmi played in 56 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 8.7 minutes, 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He has now played in 88 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 7.7 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

33-year old power forward Dirk Nowitzki continues to roll along for the Dallas Mavericks.  He played in 73 games (all starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.  Nowitzki has now played in 993 games (968 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.5 minutes, 23.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He has shot 38.1% from the three point line in his career, which is amazing for a player Nowitzki’s size as he is a legit 7-footer.  The Mavericks have built their team around Nowitzki, so they hope he has another big year in 2011-12.

33-year old small forward Shawn Marion played pretty solid basketball for the Mavericks last year, especially in the playoffs.  Marion played in 80 games (27 starts) for the Mavs last year and he averaged 28.2 minutes, 12.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  He has now played in 900 games (832 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.3 minutes, 16.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  The Mavericks will likely sign a free agent or make a deal for Marion’s backup in the near future.

The Mavericks dealt for 26-year old shooting guard Rudy Fernandez with the idea of starting him in 2011-12.  Fernandez played in 78 games (3 starts) for the Trailblazers last year and he averaged 23.3 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 218 games (9 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Fernandez is only shooting 39% from the floor to this point in his NBA career, but the Mavericks think he will improve that number with consistent playing time.  34-year old Jason Terry will get most of his minutes at shooting guard but he will get some of them at the point too.  Terry played in 82 games (10 starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 15.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 959 games (625 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 33.6 minutes, 16.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Terry is a money player as he hit a lot of big shots to help the Mavericks win the 2010-11 NBA Title.  23-year old Rodrigue Beaubois has a lot of potential, but he can’t seem to stay healthy.  Beaubois played in 28 games (26 starts) for the Mavs last year and he averaged 17.7 minutes, 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 84 games (12 starts) in his first two years with the Mavericks and he is averaging 14.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  25-year old Corey Brewer is known more for his defense than his offense.  He played in 69 games (24 starts) for the T-Wolves & Mavs last year and he averaged 21.9 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Brewer has now played in 245 games (149 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.9 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  It might be hard for Brewer to find P.T. at shooting guard this year.  23-year old Dominique Jones only played in 18 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year for the Mavericks and he averaged 7.5 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 31.1% shooting from the floor.

38-year old point guard Jason Kidd is starting to run out of gas.  He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 33.2 minutes, 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Kidd only shot 36.1% from the floor and 34% from three point range last year and that is terrible.  Kidd has now played in 1,267 games (1,254 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.9 minutes, 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  As of right now, Jason Terry is his backup, despite his best position being shooting guard.  If the Mavericks don’t bring J.J. Barea back in 2011-12, they will need to bring in another point guard to back up Kidd.

50-year old head coach Rick Carlisle led the Mavericks to a 55-27 (67.1%) record during the regular season but they got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs losing 4 games to 2. Carlisle has a regular season record of 105-59 (64%) in his two years with the Mavericks and he is 7-9 (43.8%) during the playoffs. Mark Cuban is a owner who wants results and I’m fairly certain that he would be very upset with another early exit in the playoffs in 2010-11. Carlisle now has a career record during the regular season of 386-270 (58.8%) and he is 37-41 (47.4%) during the post season. Carlisle is a good coach but the Mavericks have not made much in the way of improvements on the roster so he has his work cut out for him.

The Mavericks re-signed 30-year old Brendan Haywood and he will start at center in 2010-11. Haywood played in 77 games (67 starts) for the Wizards & Mavericks last season and he averaged 30.6 minutes, 9.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 607 games (469 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.6 minutes, 7.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Haywood seems to be playing the best basketball of his NBA career right now and the Mavs need him to keep up the good work.

28-year old Tyson Chandler gives the Mavericks another big guy to bang under the basket. He played in 51 games (27 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 6.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Chandler has now played in 588 games (391 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.6 minutes, 8.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Chandler will also likely pick up a few minutes at power forward this year.

23-year old Ian Mahinmi is a young player the Mavericks really like. He played in 26 games (0 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Mahinmi has now played in 32 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 5.9 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. It’s going to be hard for Mahinmi to get much P.T. this year but the Mavericks like his potential.

22-year old Alexis Ajinca came over with Tyson Chandler over the summer in a deal with the Bobcats. Ajinca played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 5.0 minutes, 1.7 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. He has now played in 37 games (4 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 5.7 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MAVERICKS CENTERS IN 2010-11: B

32-year old Dirk Nowitzki is still one of the best players in the entire NBA and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Nowitzki played in 81 games (80 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 37.5 minutes, 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 920 games (895 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 36.7 minutes, 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Nowitzki can also play center when the Mavs decide to play small.

27-year old Steve Novak might get a few minutes behind Nowitzki this year. Novak played in 54 games (0 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 6.7 minutes, 2.1 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He has now played in 195 games (4 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 10.1 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Novak has shot 40.3% from three point range in his NBA career which is his best asset.

Tyson Chandler and Ian Mahinmi will also likely get some minutes at power forward when Dirk Nowitzki needs a breather.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MAVERICKS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: A

32-year old Shawn Marion is starting to slow down. He played in 75 games (all starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Marion has now played in 820 games (805 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 37.1 minutes, 17.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Marion’s whole game is slipping a bit so don’t be surprised if Caron Butler gets a lot of minutes as small forward this year.

33-year old Brian Cardinal is a long range shooter and little more. Cardinal played in 29 games (0 starts) for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.8 assists per game. He has now played in 356 games (33 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 15.7 minutes, 5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Cardinal has shot 36.9% from the three point line so far in this NBA career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MAVERICKS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: C

It all starts with 30-year old Caron Butler who will start at shooting guard but he will also log quite a few minutes at small forward this year. Butler played in 74 games (all starts) for the Mavericks & Wizards last season in which he averaged 37.6 minutes, 16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Butler has now played in 560 games (527 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 36.6 minutes, 16.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Look for the Mavericks to be much better this year due to the fact that they will have Butler from Day #1.

33-year old Jason Terry might see his minutes drop a tad in 2010-11 but make no mistake he still has a lot of game left. Terry played in 77 games (12 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 16.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has now played in 877 games (615 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.9 minutes, 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Terry will give the Mavericks instant offense off the bench once again in 2010-11.

21-year old rookie Dominique Jones has a huge upside as a scorer. He played in 33 games for the South Florida Bulls last season and he averaged 37.1 minutes, 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Jones played in 95 games in his three years with the Bulls in which he averaged 36.5 minutes, 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Don’t look for Jones to get much P.T. in 2010-11 unless Caron Butler or Jason Terry get injured.

29-year old DeShawn Stevenson was an absolute stiff last season as he is one of the most overrated players in the entire NBA. Stevenson played in 64 games (18 starts) for the Wizards & Mavericks last season and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game on a pathetic 28.2% shooting from the floor. He has now played in 645 games (247 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 23.4 minutes, 7.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Wizards made the Mavericks take DeShawn Stevenson if they wanted Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood which they did.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MAVERICKS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: B