The Mavericks didn’t win the 2011 NBA Finals with their youth.

J.J. Barea and Ian Mahinmi were the only two Dallas players under the age of 28 to make a contribution against Miami, and the core of Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry and Tyson Chandler has an average age of nearly 33 years old. If Mavericks fans want to get familiar with Larry O’Brien beyond this year, there will have to be some changes.

Fortunately for Dallas, general manager Donnie Nelson has squirreled away a handful of young talents. Throw in 31-year-old former All-Star Caron Butler’s possible return from a knee injury (he is a free agent), and there’s a distinct possibility the Mavericks will be back in the title picture next season (whenever that is).

So, as the basketball-loving world heaps praise upon the 2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks, here are a few names to remember for 2011-2012:

Obviously the Mavericks will need Kidd to return and Chandler to re-sign to threaten a repeat, but there’s enough young talent to make the team more dangerous in the future. We still don’t know what kind of salary cap we’ll be dealing with when the next free agency period begins. We don’t even know if Kidd will grow impatient with the labor talks and suddenly decide to retire. What we do know is that the Mavericks have incredible chemistry and it would be a shame if this group didn’t get a chance to build for a repeat.

Next Season’s Power Rankings? Eh, Why Not?

Sporting News NBA writer Sean Deveney put together some early power rankings for next season, and, surprisingly, the Mavericks are in fourth. Deveney pushed the HEAT to the top, followed by the Bulls and Thunder. Perhaps most interesting, The Memphis Grizzlies are in eighth, one spot ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, who they upset in the first round of this year’s playoffs.

Obviously these power rankings aren’t based on a lot of specifics—we don’t even know what the league will look like next season—but Deveney is always worth a read.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Phoenix Really Isn’t Trading Steve Nash

No matter how many times different members of the organization say it, we (the media) keep asking the Suns if they’re willing to trade veteran point guard Steve Nash.

The team isn’t getting any better and Nash isn’t getting any younger, so it seems only natural that Phoenix would want to deal the 37-year-old to prepare for the future.

But that’s not how the Suns see it. President Rick Welts called the notion of trading Nash “ridiculous” in an interview with Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.

Most NBA fans judge a team by wins and losses, but men like Welts are asked to make money and there is a financial risk to trading the face of the franchise. Bordow points out that Arizona is populated by so many people from other parts of the country that there’s very little loyalty toward local sports teams. The point is, without a big-name player like Nash, these people would be happy to wait for the Lakers, Knicks or Celtics to come to town to buy a ticket.

Mavericks are “Honorary Ohioans”

Ohio Gov. Jon Kasich has issued a resolution declaring the Dallas Mavericks “Honorary Ohioans” for beating LeBron James and the Miami HEAT in the NBA Finals, according to a report Newsnet5.com’s Garrett Downing.

Kasich took a jab at James, who, as we all know, left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami HEAT last summer, by praising Mavericks captain. Dirk Nowitzki.

“[Nowitzki] chose to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2010, forgoing free agency and keeping his talents in Dallas, thus remaining loyal to the team, city and fans for whom he played his entire career.”

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