A couple of days ago, Bay Area writer Tim Kawakami mentioned that the Warriors would be interested in signing Dirk Nowitzki. Then Nowitzki opted out of his contract and became a free agent. So some people are pretty nervous about a potentially Dirk-less future.
Don’t panic.
First, those two occurrences are not necessarily related. Nowitzki has said pretty much from the beginning of the offseason that he would opt out and probably re-sign a two- or three-year deal with the Mavs to finish out his career. He has said he doesn’t be on a full-on rebuilding team, and as long as he’s willing to play for Dallas, Mark Cuban will not do that. Does that mean 100 percent that he’s coming back? No. But I would certainly make a big bet on it.
Second, Kawakami’s report that the Warriors are interested in signing Dirk Nowitzki? Yeah, well, every team is interested in signing Dirk Nowitzki. Not everyone could or should but everyone would. The Warriors would give him a chance to add another ring or two to his already insanely impressive résumé — best European player ever, maybe best international player ever, probably top-5 on all-time scoring list before he’s done — but does that matter?
I mean, really think about it. Dirk wants to play competitive basketball. He wants the games he has left to mean something. The Mavericks will do everything they can to satisfy his wishes. But does he need to chase a ring at this point? What is a better legacy when he’s done? Staying with one team for his entire career or chasing another ring or a record or whatever and going out like Emmitt Smith and Mike Modano? Tracy McGrady went to San Antonio and got a championship ring, but I’ll never think of him as a champion.
Anyway, if Dirk were really serious about leaving, if his mind were at all made up, if he were even leaning in that direction, I think you’d already get a sense of that from Cuban and the team. Dirk would have already made his intentions known, because that’s the way he is and the way he does business. No one would be blindsided by his decision.
Mostly, this is just a gift to sportswriters and columnists, so they can fill a relatively dead part of the sports calendar with pieces like this Tim Cowlishaw joint, where he uses the Warriors report as a jumping off point to get to “Could Dirk sign with the Spurs? OMG could you imagine?? LOL” without really even the tiniest shred of evidence or the basis for a convincing case.
There are a lot of things to wonder about regarding the Mavs’ offseason: will they bring in Dwight Howard, or can they get Hassan Whiteside? Is Chandler Parsons worth $96 million and will the Mavs give it to him? Can they sign Mike Conley? But fretting over Dirk’s status is not one of them.
(If I’m proven wrong, well, I guess I’ll have to move to Oakland.)
