Dirk Nowitzki sounds open to playing two more seasons

Dirk Nowitzki has just one year remaining on his contract with the Dallas Mavericks after this season, and many assume he will retire when the current deal expires. But given how well he has played this year, Dirk might decide he wants to keep going.

While his production has dipped over the past several seasons, Nowitzki is still averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. If he plays two more seasons after the current one, that would make an even 20 for his career. Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com recently pointed that out to the future Hall of Famer.

“Yeah, I think 20 years is special, especially with one franchise,” Nowitzki said. “So that would mean I at least have to play one more (season after this contract expires), but I think that’s something I worry about later. I don’t want to look too far ahead because the end is near.

“I’ll try to finish this year strong and we’ll go from there, but I always say as long as I get up in the mornings and it’s not a struggle to get out of bed and it’s still fun to go to the gym and work with the guys and talk trash and stuff like that, I’ll do it as long as I can for sure.”

We already know Dirk doesn’t care about money anymore, which makes him that much more valuable to the Mavericks or any other team he plays for. Like Tim Duncan has done with the Spurs, Nowitzki can play less minutes and bring a Hall of Fame presence without placing his team in salary cap prison. Our guess is Mark Cuban will have him as long as he wants to stay.