Dirk is expected back in action in a couple of weeks. He's come back from injuries on the early side of the timetable before, so he very well could do it again. And Dallas better hope he does. Dirk is absolutely the heart and soul of the Mavericks.

That isn't to say I dislike the other moves the Mavericks made this offseason. They made some interesting moves, but most of the moves they made are lotto tickets. The Mavericks have a bunch of guys that they just hope live up to their reputation or their contracts. But it's all fine, because every move Dallas made this offseason fits into a very simple philosophy. Dallas, and Mark Cuban specifically, believe in flexibility. Cuban has been the most vocal of the doomsayers regarding the new CBA. Cuban has laughed at the contracts handed out by other teams, and has refused to throw money around if it doesn't make sense based on how he interprets the new rules of the game. Every notable offseason move for the Mavericks was a move made with a mindset of winning while maintaining flexibility.

When viewing Dallas' moves through the lens of balancing wins and costs, the Mavericks had a very nice offseason. You look at the roster and you can easily see the Mavericks performing worse than last year. They could definitely be at risk of missing the playoffs entirely. But the roster has the upside to outperform expectations. And if it doesn't, Dallas will once again remodel the entire roster around Dirk.

It's Dirk's team, and Dallas will continue to swap the parts around him. They'll do this year-by-year until they finally land another star. That's what the flexibility is for. To allow Dallas to land another star, ideally before Dirk is done.

Even if it doesn't work, at least you can see the plan.