Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux), Rob Mahoney of The Ringer (@RobMahoney) and Matt Moore of The Action Network (@HPBasketball) go in-depth on the NBA’s Southwest Division.

They discuss how the Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs, Mavericks and Grizzlies fared in the off-season, including which teams improved and what moves stood out. The three also predict the season to come, including projected finish, breakout players and rookies they are most excited to see. Also, Danny pays tribute to his friend Jonathan Tjarks.

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Recently, comments surfaced from Mark Cuban where he expressed displeasure with the idea of an in-season tournament for the NBA. These comments included Cuban suggesting Dallas might "sit out" the tournament entirely, because wining the NBA Finals is the real goal. With the in-season cup seemingly on the horizon, Marc Stein of Substack reached out to Cuban for clarification on how the Dallas Mavericks owner feels about the in-season tournament.

Cuban said that those comments were "old", and that he is "actually open" to the concept of an in-season tournament. He thinks an in-season cup "has a chance to build interest" if implemented for the 2023-24 NBA season.

In addition to being supportive of the idea of a tournament, Cuban said he'd like to see the NBA Draft expanded by two rounds. The Mavs governor would like to see a four-round draft and the winner of the in-season cup given the top pick in the third and fourth rounds, with an added stipulation that those selections can't be traded.

The NBA Draft has been in its current two-round format since 1989. Any changes to the NBA Draft would need to be collectively bargained between the NBA and NBPA.

The Utah Jazz are in the midst of tearing their roster down to the studs as they kick off a rebuild. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were the first to go, and now the rest of the veterans in Utah are expected to follow suit.

Bojan Bogdanovic has received a lot of trade interest from rival teams. The Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns all reportedly have reached out to the Jazz about the veteran forward.

Bogdanovic averaged 18.1 points on 45/39/86 shooting splits last season. Teams looking for a wing scoring option will be enticed by Boganovic's ability and his $19.5 million expiring contract.

The Dallas Mavericks and Maxi Kleber have signed three-year, $33 million contract extension. The deal will keep one of the Mavs most important frontcourt players in Dallas for the next four seasons, including this upcoming season.

The 30-year-old forward/center saw his play slip a bit last season, as he dealt with various injuries. In the years prior, Kleber has become an important stretch big for the Dallas offense. He's shot 36% on three-pointers for his career, including a career-high 41% in 2020-21.

On defense, Kleber is a key cog around the paint for the Mavericks. He's averaged 4.8 rebounds for his career, including a career-best 5.9 last season. And he's also averaged a block per game, as an underrated rim protector.

The Dallas Mavericks are considering adding one more veteran ballhandler to its roster this offseason.

The Mavericks lost Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency.

Dennis Schroder remains a free agent and he has been scouted at EuroBasket by Nico Harrison and Michael Finley. 

Additional free agent point guards include Eric Bledsoe, Elfrid Payton, Facundo Campazzo and Dennis Smith Jr.