Mavericks forward Josh Howard has one year at $1.66 million left on his rookie contract, and if an extension is not signed by Oct. 31 he will become a restricted free agent next summer, a scenario the club wants to avoid.

Will a deal be reached in time?

"I'm not supposed to talk about it," the forward said. "That's a touchy subject. I'll let my agent and Mark [Cuban] deal with that."

Cuban's policy is not to comment on ongoing negotiations. Five players from Howard's draft class ? Cleveland's LeBron James, Miami's Dwyane Wade, Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Toronto's Chris Bosh ? signed extensions earlier this summer.

Howard won't command the money those players received. Tayshaun Prince would be a good starting point. The Detroit small forward signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract on the eve of opening night last season.

Howard averaged more points, rebounds, steals and shot for a higher percentage than Prince did last season.

"No disrespect to him," Howard said, "but he doesn't do the same thing for Detroit that I do for Dallas."