Dirk Nowitzki has agreed to sign a three-year contract to stay with the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. Nowitzki will make around $30 million with his new deal.
Dirk Nowitzki agrees to 3-year contract to stay with Mavericks, according to report
The Mavericks’ star will stick around for three more seasons and make about $30 million over that time. Will that sacrifice convince any other stars to join him?
Ronald Martinez
Dirk always likely to be first major free agent to decide. Sources say sides agreed today to three-year pact believed to be in $30M ballpark
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 3, 2014
The contract contains a player option for the final season, according to Stein.
It was always a formality that Nowitzki would return to Dallas, but the two sides chose to wait until after Dallas made its pitch to Carmelo Anthony. It’s unclear if this strengthens or weakens the Mavericks’ faint hopes of luring Anthony to north Texas.
Nowitzki might be aging, but after an injury-plagued 2012-13 season regrouped this past year to play in 80 regular season games and help Dallas push the eventual NBA champion Spurs to the brink in a seven-game first round playoff series. The power forward averaged 21.7 points on 49.7 percent shooting during the regular season, and he boasted a top-five Real Plus-Minus, trailing LeBron James, Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant.
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All things accounted for, Nowitzki is still quite productive despite his age. He shot 4.1 threes per game, the most since his 2002-03 season, and did so at a 39.8-percent clip. This was one of his finest seasons considering his age.
Coach Rick Carlisle has built the Mavs around Nowitzki such that the pressure isn’t overwhelming. While the German is at the center of the offense at times, he does play within it well and benefitted greatly this past season with Dallas’ acquisition of Monta Ellis. Ellis has been able to take playmaking pressure of Nowitzki, and a diverse group of role players -- from Jose Calderon to Brandan Wright -- has made for a successful team in the forward’s waning years.
That said, the Mavericks have been searching for a second star to pair with Nowitzki for years. They pursued LeBron James in 2010, Deron Williams in 2011 and Dwight Howard in 2012 and 2013, failing each time. They are now looking at Anthony, but that appears to be a longshot. The Mavericks are still expected to have lots of cap space to find Nowitzki more help, but it’s unclear who might fill it. Signing anyone significant could also mean saying goodbye to key role players like Devin Harris, Vince Carter and Shawn Marion.
Nevertheless, Nowitzki is taking a discount on his true value with this new deal, making it easier for the Mavericks to find him help. Tim Duncan took a similar salary three years ago on his deal with the Spurs.
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