The Dallas Mavericks made a big splash in free agency by signing DeAndre Jordan to a one-year deal, but that does not mean they will be parting ways with the most important player in franchise history.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the Mavs are expected to use the roughly $5 million in salary cap space they have remaining to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki.
The Dallas Mavericks will likely utilize remaining $5M in salary cap space to re-sign franchise cornerstone Dirk Nowitzki, league sources tell Yahoo. Nowitzki's $5M team option was declined before start of free agency to give Dallas flexibility.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2018
The Mavericks missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons and have not advanced past the first round since they won a championship in 2011. They appear to be committed to getting back to winning after they added Jordan and traded up to draft star point guard Luka Doncic, and it makes sense that they are keeping Nowitzki given the discounts he keeps offering. Dallas declined Nowitzki’s player option this offseason, but the plan all along was to bring him back.
Dirk is nowhere near the player he used to be, but he still averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds while playing a career-low 24.7 minutes per game last season. He’s no longer a star at age 40, but his veteran presence will be extremely valuable.
