Trade talks with Minnesota have progressed to the point where it's time to start speculating about how Al Jefferson would fit with the Mavs.

He'd be by far the best low-post scorer the Mavs have had during the Dirk era. He'd fill the Mavs' need for quality depth at power forward and center.

What would his role be? How about a Roy Tarpley-like sixth man? Jefferson's game is different than the shoulda-been Mavs great, but he could be the same type of beast off the bench.

The Mavs are committed to Brendan Haywood as the starter at center. There obviously isn't an opening at starting power forward.

But it's pretty easy to project about 32 minutes per game for Jefferson if he joins the Mavs. He could easily get 18 minutes a night at center and 14 at power forward, lightening the load on Dirk's 32-year-old legs. He might get more minutes at center some nights, depending on whether the Mavs can mask his defensive deficiencies against certain matchups.

Maybe Jefferson wouldn't enjoy coming off the bench, but it's better than being stuck in Minnesota.

And the Mavs would definitely be better with a go-to low-block beast coming off the bench.