Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle does not expect to have a set rotation when the playoffs begin in a few weeks.

“I think we know who our nine or 10 main guys are. With the value of the guys and the depth of our roster I don’t see us getting to an eight-man rotation or anything like that. I think we’re going to be playing nine guys with the other few guys stepping in and playing.’’

Carlisle already juggled the starting lineup on Thursday against Minnesota when he started Shawn Marion at small forward ahead of Peja Stojakovic. Carlisle explained that it is because Marion matches up better against Michael Beasley than Stojakovic.

Ever since the season-ending knee injury to Caron Butler, several players have been in and out of the starting lineup at small forward. Carlisle's top two players at that position are Marion and Stojakovic, and matchups will decide which one starts.

The Clippers' Chris Kaman is considering playing for Germany at the European championships in Lithuania this summer. They start in late August and run well into September, and serve as a qualifier for next year's Olympics in London.

Kaman said he'd play if his friend Dirk Nowitzki agrees to play.

"If he's not playing, then I'm not playing," Kaman said. "It's all on him."

Kaman made big news at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when he represented Germany by virtue of his great-grandparents' German heritage.

According to Brand Keys Sports Loyalty Index, the San Antonio Spurs are ranked number one in fan loyalty in the NBA.

The Spurs are followed by the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics, according to the survey.

The Charlotte Bobcats came in last in fan loyalty.

If labor strife produces a lockout that could last into the beginning of next season, Dirk Nowitzki reiterated Sunday night his desire to return for the German national team as it attempts to qualify this summer for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Nowitzki will turn 33 in June and he has said that 2012 would probably be his last shot at playing in the Olympics.

"If we're locked out, I might play this summer,'' he said. "We have a qualification coming up for the Olympics again. The Olympics for me in Beijing were so much fun. They were a blast. I'd love to go to London, but we have to qualify for it first. We have that this summer; if we're locked out and I know it's going to be a little longer and I don't have anything going anyway, I might as well stay in shape and play."

If the NBA enters a lockout and the 2011-12 season is canceled, Jason Kidd said he’ll likely retire. With just a month left before the playoffs start, Kidd doesn’t know if his playing days will be over by the end of June.

Kidd turns 38 on Wednesday, and has said that he'd like to play until he's 40.

“This could be it because it would be hard to come back after a lockout,” Kidd told Yahoo! Sports. “I would probably move on and join the next chapter of what I would be doing in life. But I hope that isn’t the case where it just ended without having one more season.”

Kidd admits he could be facing a dilemma. His strong relationship with famed hotel and casino financier Steve Wynn also could lead to a new career opportunity.

The Lakers bench no longer looks like an albatross. It's starting to contribute enough energy, defense and points that it no longer looks as if the starters will have to survive 40 minutes a night in the playoffs.

But as much as everyone's roles appear to be becoming more focused, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Wednesday that there's one player whom he expects to play a bigger role in the playoffs than he is now.

Surprisingly, it was Steve Blake.

Most of the attention Blake received in Saturday's win over Dallas was for his offensive awakening. In a 2-for-16 slump, Blake sank three 3-pointers – two of them immediately after Kobe Bryant left with a sprained ankle – and had five assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes. But largely unnoticed was the defense he played against Jason Terry.

"Steve can and will have more authority, more presence on the court as we go ahead," Jackson said. "Fish is a leader on the team, and [Blake] has stayed in the backdrop a lot and played a role. He's a very important part of what we have to get done, simply because he has a defensive capability to do things that we can't get done with anybody else. So, some of the guys who are prolific scorers that come off screens or do things based on just quickness and speed, he's got to be part of that. He knows that and he's stepping into it."

With the trade deadline acquisition of Gerald Wallace, what the Blazers netted was a ridiculous level of lineup versatility. With so many players able to swing between positions, coach Nate McMillan is now able to go small, go big, or go with whatever works.

For most of the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's game against the Mavericks, McMillan used a lineup consisting of Wallace, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby.

Though that unit was without a true point guard, it made sense for the occasion, as each of the players offered an interesting counter for Dallas' efficient offense.

This was McMillan’s closing group on this night, but the fourth quarter in each of the games to come figures to provide a notable contrast.

Wallace’s presence may not create an entirely stable rotation in Portland, but he opens up a startling number of possibilities.

The Knicks explained why the team decided to waive Corey Brewer shortly after he was acquired via trade.

Brewer was not guaranteed playing time and his agent Happy Walters, who also represents Amar'e Stoudemire, requested his release.

Dallas used their biannual extension to sign him to a three-year, $7 million contract.

"We let him go here because he got a two- or three-year contract and some money and they asked us for him to go," said D'Antoni. "I thought we did the right thing as an organization, that we couldn't promise him what he can have there. I think you have to take your hat off to the organization and to Donnie Walsh for doing the classy thing and let him do it."

Dallas owner Mark Cuban declared Thursday night the Nuggets made out better than the Knicks in the blockbuster trade for Carmelo Anthony.

"They hit a home run," Cuban said of the package the Nuggets acquired.

Tired of hearing that the Knicks gave up too many pieces to the Nuggets, Anthony fired back at Cuban on Friday.

"I'm pretty sure Cuban's happy that I'm out of the West," said Anthony. "I'm pretty sure if I had come here, that he would have gotten the better end of the deal. So, that's cool."

Since the trade was announced, Anthony has been defensive to accusations that the Knicks gutted their roster in order to get him from Denver.

"I'm sure if any of you guys were GMs or owners, you would want me and Amar'e [Stoudemire] on the same team as well," Anthony said at his introductory press conference. "I don't know who would turn that down."

The NBA has rescinded the technical foul assessed to Amar'e Stoudemire during Thursday's game in Dallas.  Double-technicals were called when Stoudemire tangled with Brendan Haywood. Haywood's technical was also rescinded.

The decision by the NBA allows Stoudemire, for now, to avoid a one-game suspension for his 16th technical foul.

Stoudemire season's total of technicals stands at 15.