He just can't sit around and not do anything. Even when his team is in first place in the division, owns the third-best record in basketball, has oodles of talent, speed and chemistry. No, Mark Cuban, the Dallas Master Builder, always seems to be on circuit overload when the trading deadline comes along.

	Abdul-Wahad's brutal contract didn't matter to King Cuban.

Last year, he pried Juwan Howard away from Washington in an eight-player deal with Washington and said at the time that he thought Dallas had addressed one of its weaknesses -- interior play. Now, that same Howard has been shuffled off to basketball's Chernobyl, also known as Denver, along with Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey, a No. 1 pick and, of course, the requisite Cuban contribution -- cash. He gets the Denver malcontents -- Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz -- as well as Avery Johnson and Tariq Abdul-Wahad, two guys who had contracts that only Dan Issel could have given away and Mark Cuban would accept.

From strictly a basketball standpoint, this makes sense for Dallas. And that is all that matters to Cuban. Frentz is a highly sought-after commodity, especially in Dallas where his three-point shooting ability can draw opposing centers out of the middle (read: Shaq.) He can also block shots, which is what Dallas had hoped that Shawn Bradley could continue to do. (He can't because he doesn't play.)

Everyone knew Denver was willing to deal. Some might say Denver was desperate to deal. The Celtics investigated Van Exel, but wouldn't pursue it without getting some financial relief. That didn't matter to Cuban. He showed once again that he is one of the NBA's true iconoclasts in that he (a) is willing to take on presumably killer contracts because (b) he doesn't care how much he spends as long as he feels it's money well spent. "I feel like I died and went to heaven," said Mavs' coach/general manager Don Nelson, when asked about his boss' willingness to spend. "But don't make it out that he doesn't care. He does care. He cares deeply. It's just that he wants to do the right thing and doesn't want the money to be a factor, within reason."

Other than perhaps Portland's Paul Allen, no one is so cavalier in taking on long-term contracts. Dan Issel shelled out three years to Johnson, even though the point guard will soon turn 37 and had nowhere else to go. Van Exel has a contract that runs roughly through the year 2525 at big numbers. Abdul-Wahad has an equally onerous deal, but can defend, which is something most Dallas players seem disinclined to do.

This is classic Cuban. He takes on Human Luxury Taxes and doesn't even think about it. No one could believe that Howard could be moved. Cuban not only acquired him, he traded him again. That's two deals in a year for one player who everyone figured would play out his contract in Washington. (Right now, he probably wishes that were the case.)

Is it a risk? Sure it is. Anytime you make a major deal with a contending team, it's a risk. There's locker-room harmony issues and playing time issues and shots. Van Exel has been known to care about two of those three things but, as one former NBA coach observed, "if anyone can handle Nick, Nellie can." (We would love to have assistant coach Del Harris and a Bible for his view. He and Van Exel did not get along when they were in Los Angeles.)

But it's a risk worth taking because Cuban feels it makes his team better. Picture yourself in a close game with Dallas down the stretch and you're looking at a fivesome of Van Exel, LaFrentz, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash. Who do you guard? They'll adapt to Nellie's free-form offense and there's always Abdul-Wahad and Greg Buckner for defense.

And if it backfires? He still has, at least in LaFrentz, a very desirable body. And if he could move Howard, he could probably move anyone. Plus, he's always there with his hand in his wallet to facilitate things. I believe it was Sidney Greenstreet in 'Casablanca' who referred to such largesse as "carrying charges." Cuban does those, too.

You have to think that all the Denver expatriates will be giddy not only to be out of that waste land, but also to be coming to Xanadu. Cuban's well-documented beneficence extends well beyond his willingness to take on big contracts. Every player has a DVD machine in his locker, just for starters. There's a post-game food spread and ergonomic chairs and creature comforts uncommon in most NBA locales.

We could all commiserate over the loss of pro basketball in Denver, but, as we all know, that city hasn't cared about the Nuggets for years. At least new general manager Kiki Vandeweghe, who used to work with Cuban, cleared out a lot of Issel's garbage and can look forward to the day when he'll be able to have cap room and make a play for some real players.

But one man's garbage is another man's Aramis. Denver, and most everyone else in the NBA, regarded those players' contracts as radioactive waste, untouchable, unwantable and destined to remain where they were. Cuban looked at this as a basketball decision, which, of course, you can do when you have his kind of money.

But a lot of owners have a lot of money. Miami's Micky Arison lost around $40 million last year, a mere blip on his Carnival Cruise Lines screen. But he still ordered Pat Riley to blow up his team over luxury tax concerns and you see what happened.

That will never happen as long as Mark Cuban is in charge in Dallas. He's made the Mavs relevant. He's made Dallas a place that free agents have to consider. He's taken a lottery regular and made them a playoff regular. His latest stroke is a gamble because he's already got a pretty good team. He thinks he's made it better. And, to him, that makes the money secondary.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.