The duo of Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz escaped the clutches of the Denver Nuggets in a mid season trade in midst of Van Exel emphasising his displeasure of playing for a losing ball club.  Mark Cuban was once again able to put on his magical cape, waive his check book freely in the air and moments before the trade deadline was over both players were members of the Dallas Mavericks.  Accepting Van Exel was the price Cuban was willing to pay to get his hands on LaFrentz, but as the Mavericks were easily ousted from the second round of the playoffs by the Sacramento Kings could both players be on the outer already?

The idea behind the article by Marc Spears of the Denver Post is that Van Exel would be shopped as the Mavericks try to acquire a competent big man.  Dallas was dominated on the inside by the Kings and it wasn?t just the big guys doing the damage.  Kings point guard Mike Bibby was able to float in and hit the game winner inside during overtime in Game 4, opening up a 3-1 deficit and all but handing the series to the Kings.  Would this have happened if the Mavs had an Elden Campbell, Lorenzen Wright, or even a Todd MacCulloch inside?  We cannot answer that, but it sounds as if Van Exel is asking himself the very question.

"I know that anything can happen at any given time," said Van Exel. "I would love, love to be here next year. But if they can make the team better by trading me, I don't have any gripes with that."

Van Exel says he feels rejuvenated to be playing on a winning team, yet he knows he could be used as bait to gain "a guy inside that can be a banger and physical."  Mark Cuban, however, said he has no intentions on trading the Mavericks backup point guard who has a bloated contract.

"I have no interest in trading (Van Exel)," Cuban said. "Nick is great. . . . Nick is phenomenal. He's a great guy, great to be around."

"If I am here next season, that's when I will believe it," responded Van Exel.

LaFrentz, on the other hand, is a restricted free agent.  There are few marquee players available on the market this off season which all but guarantees that Raef will be a hot commodity? if he is available of course.

Many considered LaFrentz to be the key piece to February?s trade, and surely Cuban and his deep pockets would not give up on a player which he worked so hard to acquire.  But how much would the Mavericks be willing to pay, taking in the fact that they already have $61.5 million committed to next season?s payroll.

"We'll be fair," Cuban said about LaFrentz's contract situation. "Raef knows we want him. That's the important part."

"My situation has been up in the air since I wasn't re-signed by Denver last summer," said LaFrentz. "I knew that after that, my possibility of being traded was very high. There is going to be a lot of negotiations, whoever it's with. I don't think Dallas would trade for me if they didn't want me back. But nothing is guaranteed."

If Cuban is true to his word both players will remain members of the Dallas Mavericks both next season and beyond.  With this will guarantee a bloated payroll working towards the figures reached by the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers, which will also mean Cuban will be facing the dreaded luxury tax (which in the past he has said is no problem anyway).  But whichever way you look at it Mark Cuban is committed to the cause, and that is to put the best possible lineup out on the floor regardless of the cost.  Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz will simply be more proof that Cuban will have at his disposal.

"I hope they are here for a long time," Cuban said about Van Exel and LaFrentz. "We went through a transitional phase where we went from being a pretender to a contender to a premier team. You have to make moves to get there, and now we've gotten there. We're trying to build on what we have."