Mavericks forward Josh Howard is enduring his worst professional season and his expiring contract could prove to be a valuable trade chip.

Howard will earn $10.9 million this season.

He has missed 21 games and his scoring average, 12.2 points, is the lowest since his rookie season.

"You have your teammates that are counting on you to do your job," Jason Kidd said of dealing with trade rumors.

"The big thing for us veteran guys who have been through it is to make sure that he's on board and that he's focused on doing his job."

The Mavericks aren't looking to swing any major deals prior to the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

"I don't see any bargains happening out there, so I'm not looking for any big deals," owner Mark Cuban told the Dallas Morning News.

However, Cuban did admit that the trade exception acquired from the Nets along with Eduardo Najera on Jan. 11 does give the Mavericks some options.

"Now that we have that trade exception, if somebody else has a big deal go down, we can demand a talented young player to pop in there," Cuban said. "That might be our best opportunity.

"We'll see. I think everybody waits for the perfect deal until the last second."

Andre Miller scored a career high 52 points as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-112 in overtime on Saturday.

Miller was 22 of 31 from the floor and hit 7 of 8 from the foul line as the Blazers snapped a three-game losing streak. He hit 25 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Jason Terry wants to participate in the Three-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is lobbying to get the guard involved.

"Oh, I sure wish I was. I'd love to do it," Terry said Tuesday night. "I did it twice, and I was disappointed in my performance. So I know here at home it would be something for the fans to get pumped up for if I was in it."

Cuban said the team is lobbying the NBA to include Terry in the Feb. 13 event at American Airlines Center, the home of the Mavericks.

Last year's winner, Miami's Daequan Cook, is an automatic qualifier and the remaining five contestants will be chosen from the NBA's top shooters.

Terry, although a feared three-point shooter, is shooting just 35.4% this season (80th in the league).

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban warns that next month's All-Star weekend in Dallas could be the biggest party in the country's history.

"It literally could be the largest party weekend in the history of the United States," he said. "That's how big this thing has gotten."

The game itself will be held at Cowboys Stadium on Feb. 14, where a crowd of close to 100,000 is expected.

"The Super Bowl, from a television perspective, is the biggest event of the year. But for attendance and partying, All-Star Weekend will make the Super Bowl look like a bar mitzvah," Cuban added.

The Mavericks defeated the Knicks 128-78 on Sunday afternoon, handing them their worst-ever loss at Madison Square Garden.

The 50-point loss was the second-worst in team history. The Knicks suffered a 62-point loss to the Syracuse Nationals on Dec. 25, 1960.

Dallas had seven players in double figures and stretched their lead to 53 at one point in the fourth quarter.

"They took our heart out of us," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Even though Sacramento continues to insist they do not want to deal Kevin Martin, the Mavericks show a serious interest in the shooting guard.

The Mavericks, according to NBA front-office sources, tell the Kings they want to hear from them if they change their position.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Dallas is now willing to include Josh Howard in a deal.

Boston Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

Wallace was fined for his comments made following the Celtics? 99-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Jan. 18.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is still trying to lay low and avoid fines from the NBA due to his controversial comments.

"I don't want to get fined," Cuban told the Boston Herald.

The Herald writes that the owner still pushes buttons behind closed doors, but he's been much more subtle about his complaints.

"When I got into the Mavs, I was like other young people in that situation," Cuban said. "I just wanted to take over the world. But you can only bang your head for so long before you realize you're just leaving a mark on your head."

The Mavericks hope to have both Josh Howard and Erick Dampier on Wednesday night against the Lakers.

Howard is dealing with a left thigh bruise and has practiced since Monday.

Dampier missed Tuesday's practice with a recurring left knee injury, but he was able to participate in Wednesday's morning shootaround.

"We're hoping they'll be OK," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.