Dirk Nowitzki is a team player. Just removed from winning an NBA championship a few seasons ago, Nowitzki is ready to get back into contention in 2013. The past season was a bit of rollercoaster for the Dallas Mavericks and Nowitzki will do whatever it takes to bring the team back to championship form once again.
The All-Star went on a local Dallas radio station to discuss the free agency moves Dallas is planning on making. As Mark Cuban remains vocal about wanting to land a super star, Nowitzki is offering to take a pay cut in salary to make it happen. The veteran wants both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard on Dallas and promises to sign for less money to make it happen.
"If we don't get the two monsters then we got to find another way, through sing-and-trades or other free agents that are out there. It's time to take a step forward and again be a threat in the playoffs," Nowitzki said.
Last off season, Dallas signed several players to one-year deals and it did not pay off. The 15-year veteran knows that if the Mavericks are going to have success in the upcoming seasons, they need to land dominant players like Paul or Howard that will stay for many years.
Nowitzki will be 35 this offseason and may not have too many years left in the league. He is telling the two biggest free-agents-to-be that when he re-signs at the end of next season, he will take a big pay cut so the team can continue adding more talent to the roster. Nowitzki is not committing to how many years he has left, but believes he will sign on for two or three more seasons.
Cuban is eying Howard and Paul just as much as Nowitzki is. The owner is considering trading away the team's top draft pick in order to save on money. Then he plans on turning around and using that cash for a super star. Both he and Nowitzki would be happy with either player, noting that while Paul is simply a winner, Howard has improved a lot offensively.
Despite his age, Nowitzki still has plenty of gas left in the tank and is an attractive piece of the team puzzle. The current trend of the NBA is that teams must become three-star teams. Nowitzki simply cannot rely on guys like Vince Carter or Darren Collison to get the job done.
