Mavericks sign Nowitzki to reported 2-year, $50M contract
Dirk Nowitzki is going to be a Dallas Maverick for life.
The 38-year-old veteran sharpshooter has re-signed with the franchise, the Mavericks announced on Wednesday. While terms of the deal weren't disclosed, Nowitzki will reportedly make $50 million on a two-year contract.
He had originally agreed to earn $40 million, but owner Mark Cuban boosted the number up by $10 million seemingly as a sign of good faith to not only the team's cornerstone, but to a player who willingly took less money in recent years in order to help facilitate moves to bolster the roster.
Only $5 million of the $25 million he'd make in 2017-18 will be guaranteed should he decide to retire from the league. Nowitzki has hinted in the past that his next contract would be his last.
The 13-time All-Star has been with the organization for 18 years after going ninth overall in the 1998 NBA draft to the Milwaukee Bucks, who then traded him to Dallas in one of the more lopsided deals in league history for the late Robert "Tractor" Traylor.
He currently ranks as the Mavs' all-time leader in games played (1,340), minutes (47,249), points (29,491), rebounds (10,540), and 3-pointers (1,701), while sitting second in steals (1,128), blocks (1,180), and fourth in assists (3,414).
During the 2015-16 campaign, Nowitzki averaged 18.3 points on 44.8 percent shooting, along with 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists with a player efficiency rating of 19. Dallas fizzled out in the opening round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years since capturing the 2011 NBA championship, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a five-game series.
During an interview with 1310 The Ticket back in May, Nowitzki proclaimed that the only reason he'd leave is if management told him they would undergo a rebuild. That's not the case months later, as the Mavericks have spent the summer adding quality pieces to surround their star, including both Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, who won a title with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.