Steve Nash was let go by the Mavericks after last season's disappointing end and now there are rumors floating about in regards to a Dirk Nowitzki trade this off-season.  

So where could the Mavericks potentially deal Dirk Nowitzki according to Sam Smith?

One possibility is a Garnett, Cassell and Sprewell deal while also making the Mavs take Troy Hudson and his long contract for Nowitzki, Terry, promising rookie Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse and perhaps a throw-in or two like rookie Pavel Podkolzin and a No. 1 draft pick?

A Garnett for Nowitzki type deal might work, however, it could lead to a revolt in Minnesota.

Dallas Mavericks' guard Michael Finley expects to have surgery because of a bone chip in his right ankle that bothered him most of the season.

Finley said Monday he never wanted the ankle injury to be an excuse for any struggles he had this season.

``It's been tough on me physically because I've been unable to do the things that I'm capable of doing ... unable to be the explosive guy that the fans have grown to love, that the team has gotten accustomed to,'' Finley said. ``When you take that part away from my game, it limits me and makes me just an ordinary guy. I think this year it did that a lot.''

Mark Cuban appeared satisfied with the performance of his club on Friday night, following their exit from the playoffs, though he did admit that playing against Steve Nash, instead of with him made a huge difference.

"I'm proud of our guys. I can't tell you how proud I am," Cuban said. "There was a moment after Steve didn't re-sign where I thought ... what the hell are we going to do?

"I would do it exactly the way we did it all over again," Cuban said. "I think we came out ahead of the game. Our nucleus has a future. I'm ecstatic the way Avery has approached the team. I'm ecstatic with the way the guys have responded to him."

Steve Nash yet again proved why he was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in the Suns' 130-126 series clinching victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Nash almost had another triple-double, scoring 39 points, dishing 12 assists and grabbing nine rebounds.

With Amare Stoudemire fouled out, Shawn Marion pulled the load in the frontcourt, scoring 38 points and pulling 16 rebounds.

Jason Terry scored 36 points, but had a defensive lapse in the final seconds of regulation, which allowed Nash to hit a game-tying 3-pointer.

Dirk Nowitzki, who yelled at Terry after Nash hit the shot, had 28 points and 13 rebounds, but struggled down the stretch.

The Suns will host the Spurs on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

Joe Johnson received medical clearance to play again Friday morning, however he is still doubtful to play on Sunday.

Johnson underwent surgery May 12 to repair a displaced orbital fracture under his left eye. He suffered the injury with 19.7 seconds remaining in Game 2 on a hard fall to the floor. He was fitted for a protective mask Monday.

?After not playing for the past 10 days he will need to work on his conditioning and timing, not to mention adjusting to playing with the mask," Suns president Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. ?His return to competition will be based on his comfort level."

With a win, the Dallas Mavericks would force a Game 7 at the America West Arena on Sunday.

After the first two games of this Western Conference Semifinals it seemed as if the Sonics did not have a chance in this series, the Spurs dismantled the Soups making the game of basketball look all too easy.  And the Sonics had their excuses as well, a hobbled Ray Allen, their sixth-man Vladimir Radmanovic out for the series and worst of all their all-star forward Rashard Lewis unable to play with a toe-injury.  

Yet it all came down to a fade-away Ray Allen 3-pointer with .5 seconds left.  A shot that would have taken the Sonics to Game 7 versus the rival Spurs.  Back rim clang and the season was over, a valiant effort by one of the purest shooters the NBA has ever seen.  But this was a season that met and exceeded any expectations Sonics fans could have ever had.  Truly a dream season with an almost ?Cinderella? ending.

So it was not meant to be.  The Sonics fell to the mighty San Antonio Spurs 98-96 in a thriller in the Key Arena.  This was a game that saw Tim Duncan shoot 6-21 from the field and still finish with 26 points while also hitting the game winner off a dime from Manu Ginobili.  This was a game that had no dead time, no chances for the average viewer to turn away.  A crowd that did not relent from screeching their high-decibel cheers, making for a Key Arena that, in this writer?s opinion, has never been so loud, so boisterous.  

With the win the Spurs move on to the Western Conference finals and a date with either the Phoenix Suns or Dallas Mavericks.

Thanks in part to the MVP?s triple-double and Jim Jackson?s 15 points in the fourth quarter, Phoenix is just one win away from the Western Conference Finals, beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-108.

Steve Nash led the way for Phoenix, getting his first career playoff triple-double, scoring 34 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and handing out 12 assists. He shot 50% from the field, made two of his five three-point attempts and made all of his free throws. Center Amare Stoudemire, coming off his worst game in the playoffs, scored 33 points and got a playoff-high 18 rebounds, five offensive, and added 3 blocks. Shawn Marion scored 16 points and had ten rebounds.

The Suns now travel to Dallas for Game 6 where they have a chance to finish off the Mavericks and advance to the Conference Finals versus either the Spurs or the Sonics.

Dallas Mavericks forward Jerry Stackhouse is a bit concerned about the possibility of a Keith Van Horn return to the lineup for Game 5 versus the Phoenix Suns.

"There's having that extra body and having a guy that ... has his skills is good," Stackhouse said. "Part of me says that with the continuity that we have, to keep it going. I don't know, that's stuff for Avery [Johnson] to decide."

Van Horn is confident that his sprained ankle will not hinder his performance.

"I haven't been out that long, so I don't think that will be too much of an issue," Van Horn said.

The Phoenix Suns did not react well to the Dallas Mavericks defensive adjustments in Game 4 resulting in a loss and 48 points by assist man and MVP Steve Nash.

"We control our own destiny with our energy and our fire," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said Monday. "I never got the feeling that if we do what we're supposed to do that we can't beat them."

"We just didn't come out with the same type of desperation or urgency needed to win another road game," said D'Antoni, whose team had been undefeated this season at American Airlines Center (3-0) and in playoff road games (3-0). "Adjust this, adjust that. We don't get too carried away with all that. I don't know how many teams could've walked into Dallas and won two straight games

Coach Avery Johnson said the team would determine the injured Keith Van Horn's availability just before Game 5 Wednesday. Van Horn has been sidelined since Game 2 of the Houston series because of a sprained left ankle.

"I wouldn't want to put him out there and play him in a game without going through a full practice and watching his every movement," Johnson said.