Dirk Stays in Dallas
When Dirk Nowitzki opted out to be a free agent, the Dallas Mavericks were not worried. Even when a visit to New York to meet with the Knicks, his heart was still in Texas.
It will be for the remainder of his career.
Nowitzki agreed to a four-year, $80M contract on Saturday that will keep the perennial All-Star and 2007 NBA MVP in Dallas for the rest of his NBA Career. His adviser, Holger Geschwinder, told the Associate Press that he and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agreed to "get it done." Now that the Mavericks got the the deal done, they now have to find a piece that can get them further than the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Dallas has won just one playoff series since the 2006 NBA Finals. They have a decent team led by Nowitzki, along with point guard Jason Kidd, and small forward Caron Butler.
Much like the deal Paul Pierce agreed to with the Boston Celtics, the deal that the two sides agreed to frees up cap room for the team to sign another player that can have some buzz to them. It may not be a maximum deal type of player, but one enough that can get the Mavericks in better competition with the Lakers out in the West.
The deal didn't come without a little drama thrown in.
Initially, the Mavericks were going to fly to Germany. On Friday, plans changed and Nowitzki was going to fly to Dallas. Then there was slight detour in New York and an informal meeting with the Knicks. However, the Knicks are looking at signing Amar'e Stoudemire. Determined to not to have another Steve Nash incident, Cuban and Nowitzki came to an agreement in a timely manner.
(photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
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