Dirk Nowitzki is still a member of the Dallas Mavericks after agreeing a two-year, $40 million…and that was always the plan.
We knew this, of course. Nowitzki is a Mavericks lifer. It was difficult to envision him playing anywhere else. But the Golden State Warriors had the ability to carve out cap space, plus the motivation to use it after losing in the NBA Finals, and Dallas has been stuck on a first-round treadmill for the last half-decade.
Might that have tempted Nowitzki to sync up with Golden State? The scenario was out there, loosely, if unofficially. But it was never really a possibility. As Dirk told Spox.com (transcription via HoopsHype):
“I don’t know where that came from, but a Warrior executive did say they were going to be aggressive in free agency. I guess someone then threw my name into the discussion, but I never said that I wanted to join them. That was never an option for me.”
Sounds about right.
Nowitzki and the Mavericks, unlike Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, always seem to be on the same page. Their wink-wink agreements never create uncertainty over his future. He will take less if it means chasing star free agents—or overpaying the combination of Wesley Matthews and Chandler Parsons. If big-name free agents aren’t on the table, as they weren’t this year, then the Mavericks will pay their man, as they just did.
It doesn’t matter that Dallas has wasted Nowitzki’s twilight. He has his title and doesn’t need another one to prop up his legacy. Much of his life is in Dallas, and his obviously positive relationship with owner Mark Cuban has, since 2011, always ensured that he’ll never don another jersey before he retires.
