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Allen Iverson, Jason Maxiell, Will Bynum, and a first round pick for Dirk Nowitzki, and we'll even take on Jerry Stackhouse's contract.
By Art Garcia, NBA.com
Posted Jan 21 2009 12:30PM
Will Dirk Nowitzki be this summer's Kevin Garnett, or maybe next February's Pau Gasol? Stay with the premise for a second.
This is not to suggest that the Mavericks are on the verge of trading their franchise player. It's just suggesting that at some point in the future, Dallas may have to consider cutting ties with its all-time leading scorer.
If Mark Cuban's team continues to slide as Nowitzki continues to age, moving the former MVP could become a legitimate option. Nowitzki agrees, pointing to the departures of former teammates and close friends Steve Nash and Michael Finley.
"When Nashy left and Fin left, some guys said they would never trade me and I'm untouchable," Nowitzki told NBA.com. "I said, 'Screw that.' If they can get Kobe tomorrow or Shaq in his prime five or six years ago, you've got to be stupid not to do it.
"Whatever Cuban wants to do, he's running the show, it's his franchise, he spends a lot of money year on us, and if they can get better by getting rid of me and want somebody else, have a shot at a franchise player, then just go right ahead."
Nowitzki's tone was hardly defiant. He just laid out his thoughts in a matter-of-fact chat after a recent Dallas home game. Nowitzki's contract expires in 2011, though he can opt-out after next season and join the blockbuster 2010 class.
Europe's greatest NBA export is not actively looking to leave Dallas. But the precedents set by a pair of 7-footers who took their former franchises as far as they could go makes the concept, at the very least, viable.
Gasol was Memphis' first-ever All-Star and guided the Grizzlies to their only three winning seasons (2003-06) before growing frustrated. He was traded to the Lakers last February.
Nowitzki appears to have more in common with Garnett. The Timberwolves were a perennial playoff team with KG that peaked in 2004 with a trip to the Western Conference finals. Minnesota's management broke up that team, and three straight non-playoff seasons followed. Garnett was traded to Boston two summers ago.
"I'm sure he was frustrated there when he went to the Western Conference and went backwards," Nowitzki said of Garnett. "They got rid of Sam [Cassell] and Latrell [Sprewell], and didn't make the playoffs for a couple of years. As a compe or that's obviously tough to swallow."
Dallas hasn't sunk to Minnesota's level, but the last two seasons haven't been easy on Nowitzki. After coming apart in the 2006 NBA Finals, the Mavs have gone through a pair of first-round flameouts. The 2007 team went 67-15 before being upset by eighth-seeded Golden State. Dallas slipped to seventh in the West last year and was ousted by New Orleans.
The Mavs could be in a dogfight just to qualify for the upcoming postseason. Dallas hit the season's midpoint on pace to win 48 games. The franchise last failed to win 50 in 1999-2000, Nowitzki's second year.
Many believe Dallas needs a shakeup before the Feb. 19 trade deadline to jumpstart this season. Last year's Devin Harris-Jason Kidd swap didn't do the trick.
"Maybe one more piece can change our momentum," Nowitzki said. "We'll see what happens until the deadline. If nothing happens, we'll go to war with what we've got."
It was suggested to a team insider that these Mavs could be the Utah/Seattle/Portland teams of the 1990s, teams on the championship brink that couldn't close the deal. His response: "I wish we were that good."
The nagging question around Dallas is this: How many teams in a three-year cycle of diminishing returns suddenly experience a renaissance? Especially one that hasn't made any significant roster changes, other than the much-scrutinized Kidd trade.
Dealing Nowitzki before his contract is up could be a preemptive strike with the goal of keeping Dallas relevant. Considering his $20 million yearly price tag, Nowitzki could fetch considerable talent and draft picks.
Nowitzki has a preference.
"I've been here a long time and I want to win a championship here," he said. "To win it somewhere else probably won't feel the same because I poured my heart and soul out here for the last 10 years. That would be the ultimate to win it here.
"Other than that I can't control anything else. I'd love to play here, I want to make it work here and we'll just see what the future brings. I'm certainly not looking to bail out."
Some close to Nowitzki maintain he's not as tied down to Dallas as those on the outside believe. His closest friends in the organization are staff members, not players. While his relationship to former coach Avery Johnson deteriorated, Nowitzki hasn't connected with Rick Carlisle. Several veteran players are underwhelmed with the new coach's methods, including with practices they say accomplish little.
The Mavs, obviously, aren't shopping Nowitzki. Cuban has said as much, though he did let Nash and Finley walk. "If I could trade Dirk for Kobe, LeBron and someone else, you'd have to consider it," Cuban told reporters.
And a rival Western Conference general manager doesn't think Nowitzki is in Garnett's boat ... yet.
"I feel like he's untouchable," the GM said. "I've never had a sense Dallas would move him. Teams make it known, especially a team like Minnesota that was having lean times. The Mavericks are a good team. If they weren't a good team, then that would be different."
Nowitzki will be 32 before the 2010-11 season tips off. Can the Mavs retool and reopen their le-contending window, as the Spurs have done around Tim Duncan and the Lakers around Kobe Bryant? Is the lure of Nowitzki enough to bring a prized free agent or two to Dallas?
And if the Mavericks suffer another two playoff disappointments, or miss the playoffs altogether, will Nowitzki pack up 12 years of memories and chase the ring elsewhere? Garnett, a former MVP himself, has one now. Gasol could soon follow.
"We'll have to see what's going on the next two years," Nowitzki said. "I think the 2010 class is unbelievable. There are only certain teams that have room, so I don't know if it's worth it. I don't know if I should opt-out and see what's out there or sign here longer for less money. At this point, my [preference] is to make this work."
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/feature...121/index.html
Allen Iverson, Jason Maxiell, Will Bynum, and a first round pick for Dirk Nowitzki, and we'll even take on Jerry Stackhouse's contract.
for a guy who claims to want to retire a Mav, he sure finds a way to talk about leaving Dallas damn near every interview.
Pau for Dirk!
Just out of curiosity, how interested do you think the Lakers would be if Jason Terry was available to be traded?
No interest at all. LA is in need of a PG. Of course, Terry could play PG in the Tri, so you never know.
True. I'm wondering who would be interested in JET, because his trade value is sky high right now, and a team who could add another 20 pt scorer might vault themselves ahead of the Lakers.
I'll start a thread about it
amare for dirk..
I feel Dirk's window in Dallas is closed, and as the article points out, teams rarely go through a renessaince at this point. As hard as it is, I think the Mavs should trade him, so he can get his ring. He deserves that from the Mavs!
It's gonna be hard for Dirk to get a ring, in a Mavs uni or any uni. I feel at this stage his best chance is as a complimentary player, but the teams that have players better than Dirk don't have young talent/draft picks to dangle... maybe the Blazers though.
If Dirk really wants a ring he opts out of his contact after next season, tells Cuban to shove it I am the GM, sign back on for around 5 mil and use the 15 he would have been making to make Cuban sign a superstar.
Unfortunately I think even Dirk wouldn't take a pay cut even though he has 100 million dollars to win a ring.
I think Cuban should trade him to the Eastern Conf. I'd say trade him to a team like Cleveland or Miami where he'll have an opportunity to win a championship.
D-Wade & Lebron could sure use a player like Dirk.
I think Dirk atleast deserves that after what he's done to the franchise.
He doesn't deserve from them. He did his job and got paid handsomely for it. I'd love to see him get a ring, but let's not make it sound like the Mavs are obligated to send him to a contender. If they trade him, they need to take the absolute best offer on the table, regardless of how good the other team is. That's business.
Dirk to Cleveland for Szczerbiak's expiring deal and change?
Dallas blows it up; Cleveland makes the leap.
that would be too unfair. so NO!
Pairing Dirk with a player like Lebron or Wade wouldn't guarantee a championship, but it'd be pretty damn close.
But Cleveland doesn't have much young talent to offer. Hickson and Gibson is about it, and they're nothing more than role players.
Miami has Beasley/Chalmers/Cook I guess, oh how vexing it would be to see Dirk on a team I abhor though!
So now they compare the Mavs with the Wolves !
Udoka and Oberto for Dirk ?
wats the point of trading dirk to the cavs or heat, if wade and lebron will bolt during 2010 FA...
Funny logic comparing the Wolves that KG led to the West Finals to the Dirks Mavericks.
NBA.com is reaching here
Mavs are not wolves or grizzlies
I agree.
That was a stretch to compare the Garnett situation in Minnesota with Dirk in Dallas.
The Mavs got to the NBA Finals three seasons ago and they have been a perennial playoff contender every since.
I don't believe that Dirk will a championship in Big D. It happens to some of the great players in the league(Barkley, Malone, Ewing, Reggie Miller)....and makes me realize as a Spurs fan how fortunate we have it....with a team that has been a legit le contender since the Duncan era!
Dirk will opt out.
No one with half a brain would want to stick around with this team if no changes are made.
I wonder if Boston is still bitter about Duncan getting away from them... Last year helps, but if I recall Boston had a weak lineup and horrible record, while the spurs had a contending roster than just happened to have a lot of key players injured...
Once Dallas traded Devin Harris for Kidd, Dirk's chance for a ring was over. If Harris was for the Mavs in the playoffs, that series would have been a battle.
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