Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein takes you around the league for the latest news in "Coast to Coast."

Before the season, you could have gotten pretty healthy odds on this scenario: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban waking up Friday without having orchestrated a trade or paid a single fine.

	The Mavs are soft and their owner is a doofus.

Five months later, Cuban actually has a real shot at that unlikely double, with Dallas playing only twice between now and then and with just a few days left before Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.

It has been more than a year (Jan. 8, 2002) since a Cuban-inspired sanction from the league: $500,000 in the Ed Rush/Dairy Queen flap. Twelve months have likewise elapsed since last February's blockbuster deal, which featured Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz coming to Dallas and Juwan Howard going to Denver.

Because that blockbuster was preceded by the acquisition of Howard from Washington the year before, Cuban's Mavericks are widely considered the team most likely to make a trade-deadline splash, at least until they sit a deadline out. Dallas' recent 9-7 malaise, after a 31-5 start, only heightens those expectations.

The Mavericks, though, haven't been able to pry Zydrunas Ilgauskas from Cleveland as the foreign-legion center they'd like to add. Plus there are three clear obstacles to the deal that some Mavs folks are pushing for: Van Exel and Shawn Bradley to New York for Latrell Sprewell and Kurt Thomas, to make Dallas tougher if not taller.

Obstacle No. 1: The Knicks value Thomas highly at his relatively modest salary ($4.9 million) and would expect more in return than Van Exel and Bradley. That's even though Knicks general manager Scott Layden is an unabashed Bradley fan, and even though Bradley might actually be an impact center in the height-challenged East.

Obstacle No. 2: Cuban has said repeatedly that he doesn't think Thomas is big enough to play center in the West. Cuban is also the biggest Bradley backer in Dallas and is loathe to trade him. He's not going to move Bradley unless it's a no-brainer upgrade.

Obstacle No. 3: Can you imagine Bradley playing in the glare of New York scrutiny? Right. He's having one of his better seasons, but that's in the warm, forgiving climate of American Airlines Center. And for all his progress this season, Bradley has been gradually losing minutes to LaFrentz, with Dallas desperate to develop some passable defensive cohesion from its five best players before the playoffs.

Signs points to Bibby next for Team USA
As expected since December, all indications continue to pinpoint Sacramento's Mike Bibby as the next player to be extended a formal invitation to join Team USA for this summer's Olympic qualifying in Puerto Rico and the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. Bibby's shooting prowess and team-first reputation are the key reasons why he ranks ahead of Philadelphia's Allen Iverson on USA Basketball's wish list.

	Bibby is a better bet to be Jason Kidd's backup on Team USA.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, thought to have little shot at a roster spot after struggling during last summer's World Championships, is also being considered by USAB now thanks to the Yanks' severe shortage of big men. The Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal dismissed overtures to rejoin the national team and Chris Webber, Bibby's Sacramento teammate, has been ruled out for the moment because of his uncertain legal status.

Even if Minnesota's Kevin Garnett accepts his Team USA invitation, as hoped now after persistent lobbying from Jason Kidd, Garnett and San Antonio's Tim Duncan would still need frontline help. Before Indiana's O'Neal resurfaced as a contender, Dallas' Michael Finley was said to be the only member of last summer's sixth-place Worlds squad to have a shot at the Olympic team.

Nothing easy about East for Lakers
Roughly two-thirds into the season, here's another Lakers blemish to go with their renewed concerns about the health of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant:

With Sunday's loss to New York, their fourth in the past six home games, the Lakers dropped to 10-11 against the Eastern Conference.

That makes L.A. one of just four teams in the West with a sub-.500 record against the East. Golden State, by contrast, is 12-5 in intraconference play.

The East, after its fine head-to-head start against the West, is down to four teams with winning records in this category: Detroit (10-5), Indiana (10-7), Boston (10-7) and New Jersey (12-9) and (surprise!) New York (10-8).

Willis, at 40, has No. 20 in his sights
San Antonio's Kevin Willis is the NBA's forgotten 40-year-old, in comparison to Michael Jordan and John Stockton, but Willis can't be dismissed as merely hanging on.

	Willis

He has emerged as the Spurs' emergency starter at center, with David Robinson nursing back and knee trouble, and totaled nine points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes in Friday's road victory over the Lakers.

Willis, incidentally, is vowing to play at least one more season.

"I still truly love this game, or I wouldn't be playing," said Willis, known as one of the league's foremost workout junkies. "I think I can outlast Chief (Robert Parish, who played 21 seasons). But my goal is to play at least 20 (seasons), if the Lord is willing."

Parish's 21 seasons are the most in NBA history. He retired at 43. Willis is in his 19th season, although he lost the entire 1988-89 campaign to injury.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, send Stein a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.