Dirk Nowitzki has shown in the past that he'll sacrifice for the greater good of the Dallas Mavericks organization, but that's usually come by way of taking less money to free up cap space.
Now entering his 21st season, and with a surgically repaired left ankle to deal with, the 40-year-old sharpshooter knows the time may be near for him to finally accept a reserve role. That is, if the Mavericks' coaching staff deems it necessary.
"Hey, if that's the role, and we play great with it, then I'm all for it," Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko. "But that's what camp is for - to see what works, who works best with each other. So I don't think we necessarily need to answer that question now. But it's definitely something to look at as we go deeper into camp."
Nowitzki has started 1,440 of his 1,471 regular-season appearances since entering the Association ninth overall in the 1998 draft. This included 77 starts at center in 2017-18, but with DeAndre Jordan now on the roster, Nowitzki understands he'll have to move out of that spot.
"Obviously, DeAndre's going to be our starter at the five position and the rest will just kind of fall in place after that," he said. "If (Harrison Barnes) goes back to the four or we start other ways, I have no idea as of yet. But it's a great problem to have. We want to be a franchise that is back in the playoffs and plays well and has fun again."
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Nowitzki averaged 12 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 40.9 percent from behind the arc for the 24-win Mavericks before opting to go under the knife.