Summer 2018.
That’s the offseason forever tied to Dirk Nowitzki’s retirement. He’ll have just wrapped his 20th NBA go-round. He’ll turn 40 that June. It’s perfect—the closest he can come to a storybook ending while playing for a non-contender.
But what if Nowitzki isn’t yet done? What if he has not one, but two, seasons left under his belt?
Nowitzki signed a two-year, $10 million deal to stay with the Dallas Mavericks this past July, and the team option on that latter season has some, including the future Hall of Famer himself, thinking about a future beyond 2017-18.
From the Dallas News‘ Eddie Sefko:
But dropping from $25 million to $5 million turned some heads this summer. And, with the team owning the option for 2018-19, Nowitzki said this coming season, his 20th, still might not be his last.
“Really it’s signed for two years,” he said. “We’ll see how the next year goes and obviously we all know I wanted to end my career there and I’m glad we got to that position now.”
Sign me up for two more years of Nowitzki. Sign all of us up for it.
Letting go of legends is always difficult, but Nowitzki is a true anomaly. He’s spent his entire career with one team, he’s extremely personable and, most of all, the man can still ball out.
Nowitzki put up 14.2 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting, including a 37.8 percent clip from downtown, last season. He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be a threat; he can be a deadly spot-up shooter. The Mavericks can keep him on the docket, in the rotation, without worrying how it’ll impact the touches and exposure for their kiddies. He doesn’t steal the spotlight or possessions.
And if Dallas ever re-signs Nerlens Noel, even better. He helps cover up for Nowitzki’s defensive limitations. The two experienced statistical success on both ends of the floor last season during their time together, according to NBA.com.
So yes, gives us two more seasons of Dirk. Please. Pretty please.
