Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas says the Mavericks could have a leg up in re-signing Brandan Wright because of the team's Early Bird rights.
The 25-year-old Wright finished the season on a strong note and McMahon speculates the former lottery pick could end up with offers similar to Ian Mahinmi's four-year, $16 million deal with the Pacers last summer. McMahon points out the Mavs could meet or exceed those numbers and go past the salary cap because they own Wright's Early Bird rights. Both Wright and the Mavs have expressed interest in Wright's return to Dallas, but such an arrangement would mean Wright would likely have to wait at least a few weeks into free agency for Dallas to at least attempt to land bigger fish. It might be difficult for Wright to turn down immediate money in the hopes of a similar payday from the Mavs down the line.

The Mavericks are "almost certain" to trade the No. 13 overall pick to make a run at Dwight Howard in free agency, a source told the Dallas Morning News.
We've heard previously that the Mavs are likely to move their draft pick, and this confirms that chatter. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Mavs trade the pick or take someone from the international ranks and stash him overseas during the 2013/14 season.

Mark Cuban described his sales pitch to top-tier free agents as, "You're going to work with us and Dirk [Nowitzki] to get out there and pick your team."
"We're not going to try to fool you and say that you and Dirk and Shawn Marion and Vince [Carter] and fill are basically a championship team," said Cuban. "[But] you get to come in and, it's you and we have room for two more max free agents [next year]." He also said that the Mavericks don't have any restricted FAs on their radar this summer, which seemingly rules out offer sheets for Nikola Pekovic, Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, Gerald Henderson and Tyreke Evans, among others.