Marc Stein of the Dallas Morning News reports that Wang Zhi Zhi?s disappearing act this summer may hamper the Mavericks ability to re-sign him for this season.

At 10am Wednesday, teams participating in the World championships must finalize their roster. Zhi Zhi is not currently on the Chinese National Team. And by all indications, Wang will not be reinstated to Team China's active roster after being listed as an alternate last week. Once Wang is officially omitted, the Mavericks must decide if they still wish to re-sign the former soldier ? which would clash with Dallas' longstanding promise to Chinese authorities that Wang will report to his national team whenever his presence is requested.

The Associated Press quoted Simon Chan, Wang?s U.S.-based advisor, as saying Tuesday there will be no reconciliation in time to beat the 10 a.m. deadline. Asked about the implications of Wang's expected omission, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said only, "We don't know yet."

Although the Mavericks haven't ruled out keeping him, re-signing an AWOL Wang could jeopardize the club's longstanding relationships with China with regard to future NBA prospects. Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations, traveled to China's training camp in Denver last week to "make sure this awkward situation doesn't jeopardize those relationships."

Should the Mavericks decide such costs outweigh the benefits of keeping Wang, they will undoubtedly explore sign-and-trade options to guard against losing an asset for nothing.