There's never a dull moment in Donnie Nelson's office. There's always a European scouting trip to plan, a film of college players to watch or a sponsorship obligation for the Mavericks' president of basketball operations.

But if things could ever be termed "uneventful" in regard to the state of the Mavericks' union, this is probably the time.

When your team is cruising along with a 34-10 record, has possibly the NBA's deepest roster and lists chemistry and focus as two of its best assets, there's not a lot of reason for Nelson to be burning up cellphone minutes.

"On an NBA front, it's been consistently calm and quiet," Nelson said Monday. "We're always prepared. But you just don't mess with success."

The trade deadline is Feb. 23. The Mavericks in the past have been on every other NBA team's must-call list when it came time to make deals. They have always listened to proposals.

This year, other teams realize the Mavericks have no reason to listen unless something so obvious falls in their lap that they have no other choice. So there has been less communication than in the past.

"That guy in there has made all our jobs a lot easier," Nelson said, pointing to coach Avery Johnson's office. "He deserves all the credit in the world. Him and the guys out there on the court."

The Mavericks expect to be without point guard Devin Harris for tonight's game at Seattle.

Harris injured his right shoulder late in the first half of a 102-93 win against Golden State on Wednesday at The Arena. Chasing Baron Davis as he ran upcourt for a last-second shot, Harris ran squarely into a Mike Dunleavy pick.

Harris had to be helped to the locker room and did not return for the second half. An examination found that Harris had a sprained right shoulder in addition to a sore jaw. Harris said he probably will not play against Seattle but hopes to return for Saturday's home game against Seattle.

Harris never saw the pick and therefore had no time to brace himself.

"I don't expect to get hit like this," Harris said. "Normally, I see him coming. I hit him kind of awkwardly."

Dallas Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson will coach the Western Conference All-Stars for the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Johnson and the Mavericks (32-10, .762) coaching staff earned the honor to coach the Western Conference All-Stars as a result of their 102-93 win over the Golden State Warriors this evening at The Arena in Oakland, clinching the best possible winning percentage in the Western Conference through games of Feb. 5.

Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning percentage in each conference following the Sunday games (Feb. 5) played two weeks prior to the All-Star Game.

Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris sprained his right shoulder in a collision with Golden State's Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday night.

Harris, a reserve who led the Mavericks with 11 points in the first half, was hurt when he didn't see a pick set by Dunleavy with 2.1 seconds left before halftime. He fell hard to the court and remained there for several seconds before walking gingerly to the locker room.

Marquis Daniels is scheduled to take a major step today in his return to the Mavericks.

The club expects Daniels to participate in a full off-day practice in Portland. The plan, according to coach Avery Johnson, is for Daniels to go through "one or two" practices before having a strained neck re-evaluated.

If all goes well, Daniels could return during this trip. He has missed the last eight games.

"He's trying to get back," Johnson said before Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers .

Dallas Mavericks forward Keith Van Horn has a sprained left ankle and was listed as doubtful for Wednesday's game at Houston. Van Horn came down awkwardly while making a driving finger-roll shot in the first quarter of Monday night's 114-95 win over Milwaukee.

He finished with nine points but played less than six minutes because of the injury.

As he approaches free agency this summer, Mavericks point guard Jason Terry hopes he won't experience a repeat of the summer of 2003.

Back then, Terry was a restricted free agent with the Atlanta Hawks, and wanted, in the worst possible way, to play for another team. But the Hawks decided to match a three-year offer sheet Terry signed with the Utah Jazz, keeping Terry in the NBA's version of purgatory.

With unrestricted free agency looming for Terry on July 1, the seven-year veteran hopes the Mavs will find a way to open their pocketbook so he can make Dallas his permanent home.

"I'd love to stay here in Dallas," Terry said. "We've got a great thing going here. It's a great system, great city and great ownership, so this is where I want to be."

Going into the 2002-03 season with the Hawks, Terry felt the weight of the free-agency world on his shoulders. Not so this season.

"I think the best thing about this year is I'm just not even worrying about [free agency] now," Terry said. "I'm able to just go out and play freely and know what the reward is at the end of the day, so there's no pressure at all.
"I just go out and play as hard as I can, and the Lord is going to bless me at the end of the day."

Terry earns $7.5 million this season, and early indications are that the Mavs plan to re-sign him; especially since he is one of only seven players in the league who average at least 16 points and shoot at least 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.

"I can't foresee him not being on this team," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations. "Obviously you never say never in this industry, but he's become a real fabric of what we're trying to do both on the court and off.

"He's a real special player and he's an even better person, so we're blessed to have him, and we're just really, really proud to have him wear Mavericks blue. He's one of my favorite people."

Erick Dampier is on the verge of losing his starting job.

The Mavericks coaching staff is making preparations to bench the starting center, perhaps as early as Saturday night against New Jersey at American Airlines Center.

In what would be the first non-injury influenced change to the starting five of the Avery Johnson era, DeSagana Diop would replace Dampier. Despite his relative inexperience, Diop potentially brings to the table many of the emotional qualities missing from Dampier this National Basketball Association season.

More than rebounding or shot-blocking, Diop, the 7-footer who spent four seasons in Cleveland before signing with the Mavs, plays with passion. Diop, 23, is willing to give the hard foul, if necessary, and his teammates have responded to Diop?s energy all season.

Diop practiced with the first team Friday. He would be given the opportunity to prove his reliability over the second half of the season.

After the Knicks' 117-115 overtime win last night, Dallas owner Mark Cuban complained about a third-quarter shoving match between the Knicks' Maurice Taylor and the Mavs' Jerry Stackhouse. Cuban said Taylor should have been ejected for pushing referee Tony Brown in an effort to get at Stackhouse.

"By the way everybody reacted, everybody knew there was a problem except for the official who got pushed," Cuban said. "I'm sure the league will take appropriate action after reviewing it. That's a huge play in this game to have a no-call."

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban thinks the league's officials might be giving the Pistons and Spurs too much leeway during games, perhaps in deference to their reputations as tough, defensive teams.

"What I don't understand is how the two most aggressive defensive teams in the league are Detroit and San Antonio," Cuban told the Dallas Morning News, "yet they've had the fewest fouls called against them. How does that happen? I don't understand it."

The Pistons are being whistled for an average of 19.57 fouls a game, the lowest in the league. San Antonio is next at 21. Cuban's team picks up 23.7 fouls per game.

"Yeah, well, the two most aggressive teams have the best records, too," Ben Wallace said. "That's not a coincidence. We play aggressive defense all the time. They (Mavericks) mostly try to outscore teams."