"It's not a fair question, especially in the middle of a championship celebration, but it's one Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson will have to deal with.

How will a Mavericks team that relied so heavily on role players deal with the pending free agency of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea, Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal and Peja Stojakovic?

"It's a priority, and their agents are going to have a lot to say about that, but we'd like nothing better than to keep the team intact," Nelson said Tuesday.

The players said they want to return, but keeping a player like Chandler might be the most important challenge.

"I don't need to overstate his importance. We'll do everything possible to make that happen," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Tyson Chandler changed our season on a lot of levels. It wasn't just his play, it was his enthusiasm, his energy. "