JULY 15TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release, and it’s for less than previously reported so that Dallas could accommodate its deal for Chandler Parsons, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a three-year, $25MM contract, Stein tweets. Nowitzki turned down max offers from the Rockets and the Lakers to remain with the Mavs, Stein reports (on Twitter).
JULY 3RD: 3:52pm: The deal includes a player option after the second season and a no-trade clause, Stein writes in his full story.
3:33pm: The Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki have come to terms on a three-year deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). No free agent has seemed more certain to re-sign with his team than Nowitzki, with only the length of the contract and the financial terms in any doubt. The value of the deal is believed to be around $30MM, Stein adds via Twitter.
Nowitzki and the team had agreed to hold off on finalizing a deal until after the club’s Wednesday meeting with Carmelo Anthony so as to retain maximum cap flexibility, but with ‘Melo’s visit through, the team has locked up its own star. It’s not clear whether the deal is an indication that the team is more or less likely to sign ‘Melo than it had been before the meeting, but the terms of Nowitzki’s agreement fall in line with what Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com suggested he would likely end up with.
The money is a steep decline from Nowitzki’s salary of more than $22.7MM this past season, and he could have signed a deal worth as much as nearly $23.9MM for next season alone. The 36-year-old’s age is the chief reason he’ll wind up with less, but his loyalty to the Mavs also comes into play. Dallas has been attempting to find another star to go alongside Nowitzki in recent years, and that will be easier now that Nowitzki won’t be making nearly as much.
Nowitzki made the All-Star game this past season, and his performance this year justified the selection, as the 7-footer averaged 21.7 points and 6.2 rebounds with 39.8% three-point shooting and a 23.6 PER. He spoke in May of wanting the club to respect his continued ability when it put together his deal, even as he acknowledged there was no realistic chance he’d sign elsewhere. To that end, it appears he’ll continue to make an eight-figure salary, or close to it, as he nears age 40.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
If I were Dirk, I really don’t know how I’d fell about Chandler Parsons making twice as much as I will. But he is a much better man than I.
Both Dirk and Gasol’s contracts are clown contracts. Who is responsible for this CBA by the way? The answer is Dan Gilbert…it makes Wade look bad, even though he absolutely deserves the contract he is getting (and after he has taken pay cut after pay cut after pay cut). Wade has never been the highest paid player on his team by the way
Meh, I wouldn’t say this makes Wade look bad at all. He’s still taking less than if he never opted out at all. These deals make Kobe look bad more than anything. I also feel bad saying this, but Wade really only had a 3/4 year window where he was the no-doubt best player on his team (plus injury concerns), so it’s more understandable why he hasn’t been the highest paid (unlike LeBron whose been the best player in the league for 5+ years).
I dont personally think it makes him look bad. I’m just speaking to the public perception
i think cuban pays him under the table ….