With the Brooklyn Nets taking on more than $30 million in contracts (Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace), there's no longer much of a possibility for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to team up in NYC.
As a result, ESPN's Ric Bucher has put out a report saying Dallas is now Howard's preferred destination:
Source: With Nets out of equation, Mavs go to top of Dwight Howard's wish list. No other teams - Lakers included - on it. For now.
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) July 2, 2012
Currently, Dallas has $22 million committed to Dirk Nowitzki in 2013, as well as $9 million each for Brendan Haywood and Shawn Marion. They'll have to amnesty one and find a taker for the other, presumably with Cuban offering an extra first-round pick to a team with cap space, to clear up the room to go after Dirk, Deron and Dwight.
And, at this point, what "unnamed sources" say about Howard's intentions probably isn't worth the 140-character Tweets they're being written on.
Nevertheless, the Mavericks have a chance to come out of this whole messy situation in the catbird's seat.
For all the latest news and notes on the Mavericks free agency plans, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas story-stream as well as Mavs Moneyball.