Mavericks Re-Sign Dirk Nowitzki

July 23rd 2018 at 10:50am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 23: The Mavericks have officially re-signed Nowitzki, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 19: Dirk Nowitzki will accept a one-year deal with the Mavericks worth $5MM, but the contract may not be finalized for a while, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Charania states that neither side is in a hurry to sign the deal, but the news means Nowitzki, 40, will return for his 21st season in Dallas.

The Mavs declined Nowitzki’s $5MM team option in June, but wound up giving him the same figure, which will use up the last of their cap space. That will set the stage for several other signings, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now.

The team will go over the cap to re-sign Yogi Ferrell with his Early Bird rights, then Ryan Broekhoff and Salah Mejri with minimum exceptions. That will give Dallas 14 guaranteed contracts with the $4.4MM mid-level exception still available.

[UPDATE: Yogi Ferrell backs out of deal with Mavs, agrees to sign with Kings]

Nowitzki is the most prolific player in franchise history, making 13 All-Star appearances and ranking sixth on the NBA’s career scoring list. He started 77 games last season, averaging 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per night.

After two straight seasons out of the playoffs, Dallas could be back in contention after adding free agent center DeAndre Jordan and trading up to get EuroLeague MVP Luka Doncic in the draft. Team owner Mark Cuban recently suggested that Nowitzki could be persuaded to keep playing beyond the 2018/19 season if the team became competitive again.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.