Dirk Unlikely To Take Extension With Mavericks

[Cane]

The Mavericks were hoping to be able to sign Dirk Nowitzki to a contract extension, but that is now unlikely according to a source.

Nowitzki said last month that he would exercise his early termination option and explore free agency.

When Nowitzki opts out, he will be leaving $21.5 million on the table. A new deal could start at a lower number, but would provide more security by stretching over four years.

Via Dallas Morning News


Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/67499/20100628/dirk_unlikely_to_take_extension_with_mavericks/#ixzz0sAnpVf1q

:wow

Maybe just CIA Cuban but it makes sense to explore if you're a premier FA like Dirk:



Source: Contract extension unlikely for Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
11:56 AM CDT on Monday, June 28, 2010

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
Dirk Nowitzki is headed to free agency.

That's not a huge surprise, although the Mavericks were hoping talks about a contract extension for the nine-time all-star would come to fruition.

A source confirmed that an extension now is unlikely and that if the face of the franchise is to stay in Dallas, it will happen via a new contract in free agency.

Nowitzki said last month that he would exercise his early termination option and explore free agency. It's the first time he'll be free on the open market.

The team was able to continue negotiating until Nowitzki officially informed them that he would opt out, which must be done by Wednesday.

Assuming Nowitzki and adviser Holger Geschwindner take care of that detail, the Mavericks can begin negotiating a new contract, likely for four seasons.

Nowitzki has been in Europe vacationing the last few weeks. He probably will get a visit or a call from owner Mark Cuban and/or president Donnie Nelson at 11:01 p.m. Wednesday, when free-agent wooing can begin. Contracts can be signed starting July 8.

When Nowitzki opts out, he will be leaving $21.5 million on the table. A new deal could start at a lower number, but would provide more security by stretching over four years.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/062810dnspomavslede.1e02532.html

[Mavs_man_41]

calf tats already covered this

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157379

[clambake]

nobody has come out and said they'd try to sign dirk, right?

[Cane]

calf tats already covered this..

Oh shit, shitty thread title from him imo.

Move on.

[024]

nobody has come out and said they'd try to sign dirk, right?
Don't think they are allowed to. Cuban got fined for saying he was interested in lebron.

[z0sa]

nobody has come out and said they'd try to sign dirk, right?

They sure haven't.

[ducks]

maybe alot thought dirk would take the extension

I could see dirk going to where one of the other big fa's go

would it not be funny if wade and dirk teamed up

or dirk and james with the bulls

[DMX7]

They sure haven't.

That's because everyone thought we would stay, and he still might.

[ducks]

dirk greater then amare

[Basketballgirl25]

That's because everyone thought we would stay, and he still might.

he still might, I would say he will.

[monosylab1k]

Why are people treating this like breaking news? We already knew he wouldn't take an extension when he said he was opting out of his contract a month ago.

[badfish22]

Sources: Dirk sends opt-out letter


All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=609) has sent in official notification to the Dallas Mavericks (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=dal) that he is opting out of the final year of his current contract, according to sources close to the situation.


In addition to faxing the official opt-out letter, Nowitzki had to mail a signed copy Monday from Germany to ensure its arrival at the Mavericks' offices before Wednesday's opt-out deadline in his current deal.


The move has been expected since an ESPN.com report in mid-May that Nowitzki planned to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. But Mavericks officials have remained confident that they will secure a verbal commitment from Nowitzki on a new four-year deal early in free agency.


Teams and free agents can begin negotiating on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET, but signed contracts can't be executed before July 8, when the league's moratorium on roster moves is lifted.
Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has a flight booked if necessary to be in Germany as soon as free agency starts. But sources told ESPN.com that Nowitzki's schedule is still in flux and that it has not yet been determined whether he will be in his native country or in the U.S. when free agency starts.


Nowitzki will forfeit next season's scheduled $21.5 million salary by opting out and is eligible to receive a four-year deal from the Mavericks worth a maximum of $96 million. Dallas is precluded from offering him a longer deal because of the league's over-36 rule, which prohibits giving players the league maximum if they will turn 36 before the contract expires. Nowitzki turned 32 earlier this month. The Mavericks have spent the past several weeks trying to convince Nowitzki to sign an extension that would keep him off the open market. But opting out provides him with multiple contractual benefits. One of them is the ability to incorporate a no-trade clause into a new deal, which can only be secured by players -- in a new contract, not an extension -- with at least eight years of service time and four with the same team.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=110) is the only player in the league with an active no-trade clause in his contract, but sources say a new Nowitzki deal with Dallas is expected to include a no-trade provision. The Mavericks' dream scenario, according to sources with knowledge of the team's thinking, remains securing Nowitzki's verbal commitment as quickly as possible and then making him a central voice in their efforts to recruit the league's top free agents via sign-and-trade offers.
Sources have maintained since November that the Mavericks will make every attempt to convince LeBron James (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1966) to push for a sign-and-trade to Dallas, despite Cleveland's insistence that it will not take part in a sign-and-trade and James' widely reported interest in possible moves to Miami or Chicago.


The Mavericks will enter free agency still believing they have an outside shot at landing James, although one source concedes that Dallas is no more than a "dark, dark house in the LeBron sweepstakes.
Sources say Dallas also intends to meet face-to-face with most of the elite free agents -- including Dallas native Chris Bosh (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1977), Joe Johnson (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1007) and longtime Mavs nemesis Dwyane Wade (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1987) -- in hopes of convincing another star to push for a sign-and-trade to play alongside Nowitzki and Mavs guard Jason Kidd (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=429), who at 37 remains one of the NBA's most popular figures among fellow players.


One source with knowledge of the team's thinking said Monday that the Mavericks "have an interest in any and all top free agents" for the "right sign-and-trade deal."
Sources said Sunday that the Mavericks are confident that they will be granted a turn to make their pitch directly to James in Ohio, thanks largely to the high regard members of James' inner circle have for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and James' close relationship with Kidd.


As for Nowitzki, Kidd expressed confidence last week that the Mavericks can retain the leading scoring in franchise history, despite any interest he might generate on the open market.
"Sometimes as a player you want to feel wanted," Kidd said last week. "He's always felt wanted here, but maybe this could be some weird way of being appreciated by other teams. There's nothing wrong with that because he's probably one of the top five free agents or top four, top three. He's good.
"He'll get a lot of attention, but we all feel he's not going anywhere.
"
Cuban has made similar statements several times in recent weeks, despite the fact that the opt-out scenario does theoretically expose the Mavericks to the possibility of another team swooping in to sign Nowitzki away, as seen in the summer of 2004 when the Phoenix Suns (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=pho) stunningly pilfered Steve Nash (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=592).
From the start, though, numerous executives around the league have expressed doubt that they can pry Nowitzki from Cuban's grasp, given Nowitzki's ties to Dallas after arriving with Nash on draft day in 1998 and the close bond Nowitzki and Cuban have forged through the owner's 10½-year reign.


Said Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson last month, when the reality of Nowitzki's looming opt-out began to sink in: "That wouldn't change our approach one bit. We're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure Dirk is a Maverick for a long, long time. ... It's impossible for us to imagine Dirk in any other uniform.
"I think his heart is in Dallas. You learn to never say never in this business, but from our perspective we will be doing everything possible to keep him right here."

[lefty]

DirkNowotzki_ST

I'm going to Miami Its really hard for me to be leaving D Thanks folks for your support about 14 hours ago (http://twitter.com/DirkNowotzki_ST/status/17304002920) via web :wow

http://twitter.com/DirkNowotzki_ST

[Goran Dragic]

Yes, I'm sure the real Dirk Nowitzki only has 3 followers on twitter.

[MavDynasty]

:lmao

[lefty]

:rollin

[clambake]

nowotzki :lol