Deal or no deal? Mavericks shouldn't compromise future

When the colorful owner says "we suck right now" and the coach questions their pride and the circus is coming to town this week, it's not a good time for most of the Mavs to be renewing magazine subscriptions.

From all accounts, Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson are heavily engaged in trade talks, as they should be. The first rule of any contender is, when all else fails, go for it.

Of course, there are exceptions in general and for the Mavs in particular, such as:

Any talk that starts or ends with Roddy Beaubois. When your organization has allowed two of the greatest point guards ever to walk away, the commissioner should step in for the good of the franchise when the name of another promising point guard comes up on shipping documents.