The NBA Rumors swirl around the search for a big man-a valuable commodity come playoff time. Jermaine O' Neal is a grizzled veteran but he can still provide quality minutes. The Dallas Mavericks lost their main frontcourt back-up in the Rondo trade. Is this a match?

Brandan Wright really blossomed with the Dallas Mavericks as he embraced his role as the main frontcourt reserve behind Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki. However, he became the price the Mavs were willing to pay to grab an elite point guard in Rajon Rondo. Now the Mavs need to address this new vacancy and they may have to look at a veteran

Jermaine O' Neal is another stalwart of Draft class 1996 on the verge of retirement. Steve Nash and Ray Allen are still holding out their formal goodbyes but they are also not on the court. It's safe to say that their ship has sailed but the shelf life of an NBA center is usually longer and O'Neal was the youngest of that batch along with Kobe Bean Bryant who is still very active.

Thus, he seems like a logical choice to fill the Mavericks' void. However, he is hesitating. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confided to the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

"I don't know if he wants to come here. A lot of decisions have to be made before then. When we get the right guy we'll get the right guy. No rush."

No rush, but a necessity nonetheless, as their coach Rick Carlisle would admit: "We're looking at everything. There may some [center] possibilities out there, but 7-footers aren't growing on trees. If they were we would have some of those trees planted around here. Finding quality big guys is always a challenge in this league."

The Mavericks can stay in playoff contention as it is provided Tyson Chandler is healthy. However, when they get to the postseason against the cutthroat competition of the West, they need to have the 'trees' ready.