No choice could be Mavericks' choice

 The Mavericks  appear destined for a tough decision on their final roster spot. Brian Cardinal and Steve Novak have each made a strong case to make the team.

The best alternative might be to avoid the choice altogether.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Friday night both players deserve to be on the final roster, as things stand now.

More importantly, the man who signs the checks, owner Mark Cuban, said he wouldn't have any trouble keeping both players, which would swell the roster to 15 players, the maximum allowed.

"We're definitely going to look at it," Cuban said. "If it's best for the team, we'll do it."

It helps that neither Cardinal nor Novak have guaranteed contracts. The Mavericks could keep both and if a trade presented itself before January, one of them could be waived if needed and the rest of his contract would not have to be paid.

In addition, Cardinal has 10 years in the league which means about $850,000 of his minimum contract of about $1.35 million would be paid from the NBA's fund for veterans of 10 years or more.

"We could keep both. We could keep nobody," Carlisle said. "Both those things are in play. But if I'm really going to be honest about it, right now they both deserve to make the team based on how they've played.

"The next 10 days, we're going to go hard at it and everybody's going to get to show what they can do."