Bamba: Dirk 'pinky sweared' he'd play 3 more years if Mavs draft me
What would Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki think about his team using its No. 5 pick to select another big man in Thursday's NBA draft? It appears he'd be all for it.
After a workout for the organization, former Texas center Mo Bamba joked that Nowitzki "pinky sweared" he'd play three more seasons if the Mavericks selected him, according to The Athletic's Tim Cato.
The thought of Bamba staying in-state is intriguing, especially as the Mavericks look toward a future without the franchise's greatest player. The 7-foot-1 big man - with a gargantuan 7-foot-10 wingspan - was an electric force in the paint for the Longhorns, leveraging his frame for 12.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game.
Nowitzki, who just turned 40, saw his minutes fall to 24.7 per contest in 2017-18, the lowest output since his rookie campaign in 1998-99. Even if Nowitzki's career doesn't extend past the end of his current one-year contract, the 20-year-old Bamba would serve as an interior-oriented complementary piece to the perimeter-based Nowitzki in the short term.