The Houston Rockets have emerged as an attractive free agent possibility for Dwight Howard, according to sources.

Howard became familiar with the area after spending part of two summers ago working with Hakeem Olajuwon.

Howard is also intrigued by the possibility of playing with James Harden.

Howard will engage in the free agency process and is expected to hear pitches from the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and the Rockets.

Rick Carlisle has studied past NBA drafts and is aware of the talent that figures to fall to the Mavericks on June 27.

“You know, if you look at the history of drafts, which I have in the last couple of weeks, and if you look at the last 10 drafts, there’s a history of being multiple guys 13 and below that turn out to be really good, solid, long-term NBA players,” Carlisle said, while standing on the sideline during day 2 of the NBA draft combine. “So, you know, there’s value in this draft. Our job is to find it.”

The Mavericks will pick in the lottery for the first time since 2004, when they selected Devin Harris with a pick acquired from the Washington Wizards.

Carlisle is confident the Mavericks will add a player capable of stepping in right away.

“Well, you want to get a guy with as much experience as possible,” Carlisle confessed. “One of the reasons that (Jae) Crowder was in our rotation most of the year last year and one of the reasons that Bernard James did a good job for us when he played was because those guys had experience and they were older players. I think there’s been a move towards putting a value on maturity and for good reason.”

The Dallas Mavericks have had two relatively difficult seasons since winning The Finals in 2011.

The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs and didn't qualify in 2013.

The Mavericks were unable to sign Deron Williams last offseason and are hoping to have better success this offseason in signing either Dwight Howard or Chris Paul.

"We'd love to get one of those two," said Dirk Nowitzki. "We'd love to get a player in here who can create his own shot and be a superstar-type player. It's still a long way to go until July. Those guys need to clear their minds a little bit and get away and then start thinking what they want to do with their futures. Hopefully, that's where we come in and put a great pitch out there and see what happens."

Nowitzki said he would like to be involved in the free agency pitch.

"I'll definitely be a little involved. But I'll be in the draft 'war room' for the first time ... order some pizza and talk some basketball. I got one year left on this deal and then I'm coming off the books. So if that helps for us to be better I'm going to take a paycut. That's part of the pitch. (Mark) Cuban and Donnie (Nelson) have got to be part of the pitch. I think Dallas and the fans here, the sellout streak, the city to live in is gorgeous and has gotta be in the top five in the league. Hopefully, some of those guys will decide to come, and if not, we've gotta  have a plan B. If none of those top free agents come, we gotta make some moves with sign and trades or something. We want to get back to the playoffs and be a factor. We owe it to these fans who come out every single night to support us."

The Dallas Mavericks will have new uniforms for the 15-16 NBA season and are eliciting the help from fans in the redesign.

“The Mavs are going to re-do our uniforms for the 2015-16 season.. if we get a unique and original design," wrote Mark Cuban on his blog. "What’s the best way to come up with creative ideas? You ask for them. So we are going to crowd source the design and colors of our uniforms.

“You know what an NBA uniform looks like. You know what the Mavs colors are for today and the past.  We want some new ideas that stay true to our logo and at least close to our current color schemes. Show us what you got !”

Dirk Nowitzki has returned from an end of the regular season vacation to the Caribbean and is ready to begin his offseason training.

Nowitzki has started each of the past two seasons slowly due either to being out of shape physically or because of injury.

Nowitzki had a PER of 23.4 during the 10-11 season in which the Dallas Mavericks won The Finals, but it has dropped to 21.7 and 19.8 in the past two seasons.

Kaleb Canales is leaving the Portland Trail Blazers to take an assistant coaching position with the Dallas Mavericks.

Canales, a finalist for the Blazers' coaching vacancy last offseason that ultimately went to Terry Stotts, served as a defensive coordinator on Portland's staff this season.

Stotts had said he wanted to remove the "coordinator" label and make both ends of the court a team effort from the coaches.

Canales was the Blazers' interim coach in 2012, when the organization fired Nate McMillan.

The Dallas Mavericks would like to add a perimeter player capable of engineering their offense while also creating shots for himself and others.

“Look, we’ve been spoiled with guys like [Steve] Nash and Jason Kidd, and those are certainly big shoes to fill,” Donnie Nelson said. “And I think, you know, the quarterback position is one that we’re going to look very, very hard at. We’ve always liked players that are veteran, players that are smart, and having the ability to raise our collective IQ is also something that’s important to us.”

Nelson also covets a defensive center capable of protecting the rim and controlling the glass.

“We’re always into rim protectors and shot blockers,” Nelson said. “That certainly makes life a lot easier for everyone on the floor. But we’ve got six guys under contract. We’ve got three veterans and three young guys, and we’re in pretty short order going to try to address all of those available positions. … It’s free agency, it’s draft, it’s trade, and so we’ll turn over every rock in attempt to get where we need to be, which is not where we are right now.”

The Mavericks finished the season with nine players on expiring contracts.

O.J. Mayo will opt out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, making him a free agent this coming offseason.

"Getting something long term, locking something in is what I think is best for me," Mayo said Thursday after his exit interview with Rick Carlisle and Donnie Nelson.

Mayo has yet to seriously consider teams that might be a fit for him.

"I'm sure new teams have popped up on the list," Mayo said. "I need to talk to my agent [Rob Pelinka] and see what we can work out."

Dallas Mavericks guard O.J. Mayo says he would like to return to the team next season.

Mayo, who has a player option in his contract for the 2013-14 season, was the recipient of a recent public criticism from coach Rick Carlisle.

"Yeah, I'd like to be back here," Mayo said.

The guard can opt to make a $4.2 million salary from the Mavericks next season, or decide to test the free agent market.

"I haven't really sat down and talked to [Mark] Cuban about it or my agent," Mayo said. "I think I'll probably take a week or so off after this season and get together and meet."

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle ripped into guard O.J. Mayo during Monday night's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Carlisle shot a disgusted stare at Mayo after calling a timeout. Mayo had two sloppy turnovers and a weak foul over a 90-second stretch.

"I called that timeout just to get you out of the game!" Carlisle screamed at Mayo in the huddle, according to one player.

Carlisle then made his criticism loud and clear during his postgame news conference.

"I just want to see him show up," the coach said. "I just want to see him show up and compete. He didn't compete tonight.

"And I tell you, with all the time we've put into helping him develop and bringing him along, in the biggest game of the year -- an opportunity to be a winning team -- for him to show up like he did tonight, I was shocked.

"Look, sometimes guys have bad nights, so make sure to put that in there, too."

Mayo was especially poor all season against the Grizzlies, a team that tried to trade the former No. 3 overall pick repeatedly and showed no interest in re-signing him last summer.

"He just had a bad night," Carlisle said after making a point to mention that the coaches showed Mayo film at halftime "where he was virtually just standing around defensively" and essentially implored him to mentally check into the game. "I guess I'll write it off to that.

"But I tell you what, if I was playing against my former team, I'd come out ready to go. I'd come out ready to go at them. But that's me. You know, that's me."