Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has a new interview with Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, in which the 2011 NBA Finals MVP discusses his career, his future with the Mavericks, various free agents that have been linked to Dallas, and more.
On the possibility that he may be traded:
“That is a tough question. You have to ask that to [owner] Mark [Cuban] and [general manager] Donnie [Nelson] if that's something they would consider. As far as I'm concerned, I think I am going to finish my career in Dallas. I really only have this year and next year left on my contract for big money and then we will see what happens."
On his hopes for the Mavericks' rebuilding efforts:
The good thing is we have [salary] cap space for the first time in my career. We've always been over the cap. We've never been able to sign someone flat-out. We always had to do different deals to get somebody in.
“The good thing with cap space is you can turn your situation around pretty quick. It might look a little ugly at times this year, but you can take chances on a contract and be a player in free agency this year.”
On his relationship with Deron Williams, who considered signing in Dallas before ultimately returning to Brooklyn:
“I talked to him actually. We partied at one of the All-Star Games a long time ago. I've had his number. We've been talking. He's from Dallas, I know that. But he made the decision that was best for him and for his family. I wasn't mad at that. It is what it is. I have to move on.
On the possibility that the Mavs will pursue Chris Paul or Dwight Howard this summer:
“We're not that close. It's going to be tough. Dwight is in L.A. Obviously, CP3 [Chris Paul] is with the Clippers and they're both in great situations. So, we will have to wait and see what the summer brings. Maybe we can still do something at the trade deadline. We still got a couple weeks to get better and you know Mark and Donnie are always working something to make the franchise better.”
On the Mavs' decision not to bring back Tyson Chandler and Jose Barea following the team's 2011 title:
“Great question. What Mark didn't want to do, especially now with the new CBA, was lock himself in where he has a bunch of older guys with big deals. And then when we get too old, you're basically locked in for another two to three years and you can't do any moves. As I understood the CBA more, how the taxes are going to be, I understood his point of view on it.
“But us as players, we would have loved to have kept Tyson, Caron [Butler], J.J., all those guys who really would have had another shot last year. But it is what it is and you have to make tough decisions in this league, and Cuban thought it would be better to have the [salary] cap space for the future.”