Mark Cuban has a two-year plan to return the Dallas Mavericks to championship contention.

"We want to be a championship team. We've never said we have to be a championship team this year," Cuban said Saturday. "We want to be a better team, a top-seed team. If we get the top free agent, that doesn't leave us a whole lot of flexibility to add a lot of players, but we have a good nucleus around them. We know we'll have a good team, but we won't know if we have a great team.

"If you look at this like a two-year plan, then we think we're on a track to have a great team by the end of next year."

The Mavericks are believed to be targeting Dwight Howard or Chris Paul in free agency.

"I can make an argument why we should absolutely go after the big fish and I can make an argument on why we shouldn't,” Cuban said. “There are a lot of really, really good players that, in combination, that I think can make us a top-3 or 4-seed in the West."