"Most in the league thought Mark Cuban had it right. Why not play with an eye on the summer of 2012?

Enjoy the championship glow. Don't re-sign Tyson Chandler or J.J. Barea, freeing up salary cap space. Try to win with what you have this season. And then get in line for Deron Williams or Dwight Howard or both.

It is smart basketball, as well as smart business. Dallas fans, also caught up in the championship glow, aren't about to go away now.

But the message drifted down, turning Cuban's best player into Shaquille O'Neal with a German accent. And this isn't what Dirk Nowitzki needed.

He already had too many reasons to relax."