Vince Carter wants to remain with the Dallas Mavericks next season.

“I think I’ve earned the right to stick around,” Carter said.

Carter has been a good value for Dallas on his three-year, $9.3 million contract.

“My fingers are crossed,” he said. “Next year might be even better. We can attract some more people, more talent. Now I know my role, and I know the system, it’s second nature to me now. I know the city very well. I’m stepping out, going to SMU games and getting out and about. I’m very comfortable here.

“I like the guys. I like the nucleus we have here. With my role and the way I play and the way I go about things, it really helps guys here. And they like that. Hopefully, that’s enough so that they can still have trust in me enough to play significant minutes and help the other guys out.”

Rick Carlisle has broken down film and understands the Dallas Mavericks must get off to better starts to games.

“Our activity level has not been where it needs to be,’’ Carlisle said on Friday. “I’ve just got to prepare them better.

“I guess I’ve got to take it upon myself as a responsibility.’’

The Mavericks trailed by 22 less than 14 minutes into their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to be on and we’ve got to be in a fighting mode from the very beginning of games,’’ Carlisle said. “Some nights we are pretty good that way, but then the speed of teams can be a big factor and make it look like we’re not playing hard.

“We’ve got to be playing hard. We’ve got to be playing hard and communicating and really helping each other, and do it for 48 minutes in a row.’’

Mark Cuban has rarely criticized Dirk Nowitzki in public during their long owner/player relationship with the Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban told the media that he had a conversation with Nowitzki about his play.

“I think sometimes he loses concentration, and I think we’ve got to get past that,” Cuban said. “I mentioned it to him today. I asked him how his nap was during the game [Sunday at Oklahoma City]. He laughed. At least that’s while I was facing him. When I turned my back and walked away, I don’t know.”

Cuban said he’s called out Nowitzki before.

“Like ’08, ’09, when we lost to Oklahoma City when they sat everybody, I called out Dirk and the whole team,” Cuban said. “And I think the championship year, I called him out because I thought he let up when Caron [Butler] got hurt and then Dirk got hurt."

The Dallas Mavericks have assigned Gal Mekel to the Texas Legends while recalling Shane Larkin.

In four games with the Legends this season, Larkin has averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 35.8 minutes. He has played in 42 games for the Mavericks and is averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 assists in 11.1 minutes per contest.

Mekel has played in three Legends games and has averages of 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 27.7 minutes.

Mark Cuban is in favor of the NBA expanding its draft beyond the current two rounds.

“I’d like to see four rounds so you can draft guys overseas, get more guys drafted that are your property so you can try to develop them,” Cuban said on Friday.

“Because once they get into the ‘I’m a free agent, I wasn’t drafted grind,’ ... you’ve got to realize that toward the bottom of the second round there are teams that pick for financial reasons, and that takes advantage of guys that might have otherwise been picked.

“Rather than me making a call, ‘Hey, so-and-so, you’re the 61st pick in the NBA draft,’ It would be better to have the draft [expanded], but again, it’s not my say.”

Vince Carter, 37, believes he can play two more seasons in the NBA but is unsure about playing until he is 40.

When told Steve Nash played at the age of 40 this season, Carter said, "That’s crazy. 40? I have a couple of years left."

Carter is averaging 11.9 points and 3.6 rebounds this season as a contributor off the Dallas Mavericks' bench.

he Dallas Mavericks assigned rookie guard Gal Mekel to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League on Tuesday.

Mekel is averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 assists and 9.6 minutes in 30 games this season.

Mekel has missed the last 21 games of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to address a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.