Nowitzki wants to play for Mavericks until very end, rebuild or not
Dirk Nowitzki has been the face of the Dallas Mavericks for 19 seasons, and will make it an even 20 when he returns for what very well could be his final run in the NBA in 2017-18.
The Mavericks finished eight games back of the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record, which is the first time since 1999-00 (Nowitzki's sophomore campaign) that they came in below the .500 mark. Barring some drastic offseason changes, the odds of Dallas qualifying for the playoffs next year don't appear to be very high.
Nonetheless, even if management decides to blow up the roster and begin anew, Nowitzki has no intentions of bolting or asking to be dealt to chase his second championship elsewhere.
"Hey, if you're going with a team like I have so long, if that's what it takes, I guess that's what it takes," Nowitzki said Thursday during his year-end press conference, according to SportsDay's Eddie Sefko. "I obviously knew it (rebuilding) was a possibility. At the end of the day, I just can't imagine myself in a different uniform.
"If we're rebuilding, then I'm the face of that. If we're a championship (team), then I'm here for that. I just identified myself with the organization for so long, with the fan base, with the city, that no matter what the franchise is going through, I'm right there to push it through."
At 38 years of age, Nowitzki can't be relied upon to carry the load and compete at an All-Star level any longer. He averaged a respectable 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds on 43.7 percent shooting and 37.8 percent from behind the arc in 54 appearances, which is all anyone should expect from him at this point.
It will take a collaborative effort from the top down to get the Mavericks back to what they once were.
"It's no secret," he added. "We got to get better, better in all phases. The young guys got to get better, the old guys got to stay healthy and work on some stuff. We'll see what the draft brings, see what free agency brings. I'm sure Mark and Donnie are going to look to make this franchise competitive again. We'll have to wait and see what team we have next year."