According to some articles on ESPN, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News, Stackhouse claims he has many minutes left in his career and he's not getting enough playing time in Dallas.

Honestly I don't mind seeing Stackhouse go. Maybe you're not getting the minutes and play time when you don't produce anything for the team during such minutes.

Perhaps this is the time to not trade for anyone but for a draft pick, either a late first round pick or early second round pick is all Stackhouse is worth right now.

We have Wright and Green readily available to take his spot, with Green proving he is worthy to play that role and energy off the bench.

Mark Cuban claims the trade for Kidd that dealt Harris to the Nets has been a win-win situation.

I actually have to say no on this one Mark. It's not a win-win trade. Devin Harris is only destined to get better, he's young, he has years and many years left in him. Kidd will be gone and out of the picture soon. Where does that leave the Mavericks? In search of another PG because I'll be surprised if Jose Barea fills that role.

Unless the plan all along is to try and lure Harris back, which I think every Maverick fan would like to see and welcome.

Cuban was quoted saying from the Star-Telegram, "It is what it is. Jason Kidd has been our best player by far. There’s no question about. It’s a win-win. J-Kidd has just been phenomenal, so it’s been a win-win trade."

Read the article here.

So there's some rumors or truth behind it that Mark Cuban stated that the players were the force that drove to fire Avery Johnson. He's stated that most of the players asked that if Avery were coach next season, they would want to be traded. It was mentioned most either spoke of this through generalities or through their agents.

Could this be the truth coming from Cuban? Personally I believe it's probably and highly a partial truth. We all could realize that there was tension between the players and Avery, but I'm willing to bet there was tension between Cuban and Avery as well that lead to his firing.

"I had a good time with Avery," Nowitzki said Thursday. "But sometimes I wish we had communicated a little more. We all know Avery ran a little dictatorship here. I think this league is still a league of players, not a coaches league."

Hopefully with the new coach and other changes in the coaching staff, Carlisle will allow Kidd to make a lot of the decisions on the court. What's really the point of a point guard not calling shots as he sees fit. Sure the coach can come up with a great offensive play but everyone who's played basketball should realize that it could change in a heartbeat on the court.

Players do need to adapt and have a little more control of what's going on. They're the ones playing. A coach can be a glorified fan that just actually gets to interact with the players up close and personal. At times fans can call the shots from the stands that make sense of what we see from a point of view but it just doesn't work out every single time calling shots from the stands and sidelines if you're a coach.

You can read more about Dirk on Avery here.

I use to like Josh Howard. I thought he was a rising star and was a great member to have on the Dallas Mavericks. I shrugged off the pot smoking because well, that's his business and as long as it's not affecting his performance, then all power to him in smoking pot.

But now he's disrespecting the National Anthem, claiming he doesn't celebrate that "shit" because he's black. If you really don't celebrate that shit, then move the fuck on out of the United States. You'd be a great addition to the European Basketball League.

I think it's time for Mark Cuban to maybe think about trading Howard. How can you keep someone on your team that disrespects the National Anthem that's played before every game he plays.

There were also comments that he said Obama '08 afterwards. Let's be quite clear, Obama probably wouldn't endorse you Josh Howard and probably be ashamed of such statements towards the National Anthem.

So draft day is 3 days away and the Mavericks have a second round (No. 51) pick that they got from the Kidd trade, which they traded their first round pick in the deal. Let's hope they can get a steal from this pick or somehow deal around the league to get a better pick, maybe a trade of a few of the veterans that give the team absolutely nothing but warm seats during the regular season.

Former head coaches Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts are in Dallas finalizing contract details and preparing for next week’s NBA Draft.

It's also news that Mario Elie and Popeye Jones are expected to stay on the assistant coaches staff to work alongside Carlisle. Both worked with Avery Johnson during his coaching years.

So without a doubt, I can still say I liked Avery Johnson but reading story after story, it does appear to me that he did lose this team with his own tactics on handling the head coach position.

Carlisle I hope will surprise me. He's known to be just as hard nosed in the past but with his press conference after getting introduced by the Mavericks, things seem more optimistic for the Mavs.

"Having said all that about the offensive end, we've got to be passionate and vigilant about preserving what Avery did here in establishing the defensive end," Carlisle said. "This team didn't get to the championship round until they really made a commitment defensively."

I like this. Preserve the defense that Avery brought the team.

"One of the things that drew me to this opportunity was the chance to work with a different type of team in terms of personnel," he said. "When you play with Jason Kidd, I think you got to open up the floor and you got to allow him to push it. ... I think the thing is you've got to play to your strengths and you've got to adjust. For me, this isn't about me coming in with my style. This is about me coming in here and figuring out what the roster is going to be and fitting the style to the personnel."

This also is good. It's what they need, let the point guard do his job in running the court.