Dirk Nowitzki Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Dirk Nowitzki Acknowledges Possibility Of Retiring In 2017

December 14th, 2016 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki‘s current plan is to spend 20 total seasons with the Mavericks, which would mean playing out his current two-year contract and then likely calling it a career in 2018. However, as he continues to battle Achilles issues, Nowitzki acknowledged that retiring a year early, in 2017, remains a possibility.

“If things don’t go so well and it hurts everywhere, it could be that 2017 will be the end,” Nowitzki told German magazine Sport Bild, per AFP.com. “Actually, my plan is to complete the 20 years and play for Dallas until 2018. But just because I have signed a two-year contract doesn’t automatically mean that I will play for two years. It could happen next year.”

Nowitzki’s two-year deal with the Mavericks, which he signed over the summer, features a guaranteed salary for 2016/17, followed by a team option for 2017/18. Dallas will have until the end of June to exercise or decline that option, so if the veteran German forward has made his own decision by that point, it should be an easy call for the team.

Still, while Nowitzki’s injury woes this year have been discouraging, Mavs fans shouldn’t panic about his latest statement, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. As Sefko writes, Nowitzki has suggested all along that his two-year deal won’t necessarily bind him to playing in 2017/18. His plan has always been to play out the contract if he can, and the Mavs’ training staff is optimistic that the 38-year-old can still get healthy this season and have a strong second half. If that happens, there’s a very good chance Nowitzki continues his career in ’17/18.

If Nowitzki does play one more season, he could be joined by a promising young teammate. As our 2016/17 Reverse Standings show, Dallas is currently tied for the NBA’s worst record, which would give the team a great shot to land a top-three pick.

Mavs Notes: Finney-Smith, Nowitzki, Matthews

December 13th, 2016 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Dorian Finney-Smith has been a pleasant surprise for the Mavericks this season, starting 16 games for the team and contributing 21.1 minutes per game. After Monday night’s win over the Nuggets, in which Finney-Smith contributed 13 points and nine boards, Deron Williams suggested that the undrafted rookie is “putting himself in a good position to get a long-term contract next year from somebody” (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavericks.com).

Perhaps the veteran point guard was projecting — while Williams’ deal with the Mavs expires next summer, Finney-Smith is under contract with the team for two more non-guaranteed seasons, so Dallas shouldn’t have to worry about losing him to a rival suitor anytime soon.

Here are a few more Mavericks-related notes:

In a conversation with Chris Mannix (Twitter video link), Bobby Marks of The Vertical discusses the outlook for the Mavs, including addressing whether it might be time for the club to consider trading Dirk Nowitzki.
Since joining the Mavericks in the summer of 2015, Wesley Matthews hasn’t looked like the same player he was in Portland, but his performance recently suggests he may finally be shedding the effects of his Achilles injury and playing up to his potential, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Speaking of injuries, Nowitzki and J.J. Barea are expected to ramp up their activity this week, but it’s still not clear when they’ll get back on the court for the Mavs, says Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
In a chat for The Morning News, Sefko offered some thoughts on where he’d start if he were tasked with fixing the Mavs, and explored how the team might be able to add a second first-round pick for 2017.

Mavericks Notes: Curry, Nowitzki, Bogut, Cuban

December 10th, 2016 at 11:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries to Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut have depleted the Mavericks’ front line, but at least their backcourt is getting healthy, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Seth Curry returned to the lineup and played 25 minutes Friday night. Deron Williams no longer has a minutes restriction, while Devin Harris is playing, although he is still limited to 20 minutes per game. “I was a little careful with [Curry] with the minutes in his first game back,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “I thought considering he’d been out nine days, he did fine. Having that extra guy at the guard position really alleviates a minutes crunch. And it helps Devin’s situation, too.”

There’s more news out of Dallas:

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Rondo, Barnes

December 4th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Shortly after being ruled out indefinitely with a lingering Achilles problem, Dirk Nowitzki told reporters he is “all in” for the rest of the Mavericks’ season, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Soreness in his right Achilles tendon has limited Nowitzki to five games this season. The problem began after he played 38 minutes on opening night. The veteran forward, who re-signed this summer for $50MM over two years, said he remains committed to this season despite the pain and Dallas’ 4-15 start. “This is obviously not a career-ending injury that I’ve got,” he said. “It’s something that just keeps lingering unfortunately. I can hopefully get over it. There’s still a lot of season left. December just started. We know that there’s a lot of games coming, so hopefully sometime soon I’ll be out there and then stay out there. I don’t want to jump in and out of the lineup with soreness or fight this whole year. I’d love to be healthy and stay out there once I go.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Center Andrew Bogut says the Mavericks have to turn things around quickly to have any hope for the playoffs, tweets Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star Telegram. “We probably honestly genuinely got about a month left to try and salvage this season,” Bogut said before Saturday’s win over the Bulls. The Mavericks’ performance over the next few weeks may determine if Bogut remains with the team all season. He will be a free agent next summer and could be traded before the February 23rd deadline if Dallas isn’t in contention.
Coach Rick Carlisle remains a supporter of Rajon Rondo even though they had a rocky relationship during the point guard’s time in Dallas, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Carlisle gave a glowing report about Rondo to the Bulls’ coaching staff when the team was considering making an offer to him in free agency. “I’ve recommended Rondo to a couple teams who have called me about him the last couple years,” Carlisle said. “As a competitor, you’re not going to find a guy better or more resourceful. It didn’t work out here for various reasons. It just was not a good fit. We did everything we could to make it work.”
Harrison Barnes is still adjusting to being a primary scorer after starting his career as a complementary piece in Golden State, writes Pat James of The Charlotte Observer. The Mavericks gave Barnes a four-year, $94MM contract this summer and promised him a larger role in the offense. “You just have to go and be aggressive,” he said. “That’s just the mentality coach has been trying to get me to be in this entire season. When he [Carlisle] draws up that play, it can’t be that I’m indecisive or thinking, ‘What play should I do?’ It’s just got be, ‘Make a read, and make or miss you live with the result.’ ”

Dirk Nowitzki Out Indefinitely

December 3rd, 2016 at 3:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dirk Nowitzki has missed 11 of the last 13 games, including three straight, with a right Achilles strain and the Mavericks want to give him the best chance at returning to the floor and playing as much as possible without any lingering problems, Eddie Sefko The Dallas Morning News reports. When asked how long the big man will be out, coach Rick Carlisle said “indefinitely.”

“I talked to Casey [Smith, athletic trainer] about it [on Friday] and I think he’s going to be out for a while,” Carlisle said. “I think indefinitely is an accurate word until we tell you something. We’re not trying to hide anything here. But taking daily questions about it gets exhausting for him. If it’s not going to happen real soon, then what’s the point. Progress has been made, it’s just not there yet.”

Nowitzki, who re-signed with the team on a two-year, $25MM deal, has only played in five games this season. In those contests, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting only 35.8% from the field.

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Curry, Gibson

November 28th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks veteran Dirk Nowitzki should be back for another season no matter how this one turns out, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. A strained Achilles has limited Nowitzki to just five games as the Mavs have stumbled to a 3-13 start. In a question-and-answer column, Sefko says the 38-year-old still has a strong desire to play and won’t want to walk away from the $25MM he is owed next season.

There’s more tonight out of Dallas:

Center Andrew Bogut understands that he will only be in Dallas for one season, and maybe less, Sefko adds in the same piece. The veteran center was acquired in an offseason deal with the Warriors when Golden State was shedding salary to sign Kevin Durant. Bogut has started all 13 games that he has played and is grabbing 10.5 rebounds per night, but his expiring contract may make him attractive to a contender before the February deadline.
Seth Curry will take time to develop as a point guard, Sefko cautions in a separate story. After signing a two-year, $6MM deal in July, Curry has been pressed into service because of injuries to Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Sefko says Curry works on ballhandling as much as his brother Stephen does, and just needs repetition and confidence to improve as a point guard.
Guard Jonathan Gibson and center A.J. Hammons are the players most likely to be let go if Dallas needs to open a roster spot, Sefko says later in the same story. Gibson re-signed with the Mavericks earlier this month after being waived during the preseason, and Hammons is a rookie second-round pick out of Purdue. Sefko adds that everyone except Nowitzki should be considered as trade candidates between now and the deadline.
We rounded up a few more Mavs notes earlier in the day.

Mavs Notes: Acy, Nowitzki, Rondo, Carlisle

November 28th, 2016 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we passed along comments from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said on Sunday night that his team doesn’t have any interest in tanking this season, despite a league-worst 3-13 record so far. Cuban’s thoughts on tanking, the 2017 draft, and not wanting his team to grow accustomed to losing created the most interesting Mavs-related headline of the day, but there are plenty of other notes out of Dallas to round up. Let’s check them out…

The D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders have claimed Quincy Acy off waivers, but will trade him to the Texas Legends in a deal that involves a 2017 first-round pick, reports Chris Reichert of The Step Back (via Twitter). Acy was waived by the Mavs earlier this month, and is now on track to join Dallas’ D-League affiliate, once the claim and trade are made official.
Dirk Nowitzki returned to action last week, but his Achilles issues are expected to linger into December and won’t go away overnight, as Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Nowitzki sat out Sunday’s game against the Pelicans, and will likely continue to sit out the occasional game going forward to avoid any setbacks, per head coach Rick Carlisle.
Although his time in Dallas didn’t work out like he hoped it would, Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo praised Carlisle, telling K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that he has “a lot of respect” for his former head coach. “Just because things don’t go well doesn’t mean you hate a person or that the media perception is right,” Rondo said. “Rick and I had a good relationship in the beginning. We tried to work it out. I worked with him every day on my shot. We watched film together. Not every marriage works. It was a learning process.”

Mavericks Notes: Felton, Nowitzki, Matthews, Harris

November 23rd, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers point guard Raymond Felton returned to Dallas tonight, and the shorthanded Mavericks may be wishing they had kept him, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The team is playing without Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris, who have all been sidelined by injuries. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called it a “franchise decision” to let Felton go, but he clearly misses having the veteran guard. “Felton played great for us, and I wish we would have brought him back,” Carlisle said. “He was a big difference-maker for us last year and probably one of the big reasons we got to the playoffs. You look at the whole year and everything that happened start to finish, Ray was filling in and starting. And we were winning a lot of those games because of what he was giving us. He’s a winner and was an ultimate pro here for two years. And the Clippers are very lucky to have him.” Felton, who got a one-year, minimum-salary deal from L.A., said the Mavericks were always his first choice. “I made it clear where I wanted to be,” he said. “Sometimes, things just don’t work out.”

The Mavericks welcomed Dirk Nowitzki back tonight in a move that should take the burden off some of the other starters, Sefko writes in a separate story. Harrison Barnes is second in the NBA in minutes played at 38.1 per game, and teammate Wesley Matthews is fourth at 36.9. The Mavs are always concerned about Matthews after the torn Achilles he suffered in 2015. “It’s not the injury history, it’s the length of the season,” Carlisle said. “There’s a cumulative effect of guys being out there too much. But there’s no substitute for a warrior like him who is the best perimeter defender we’ve got and hits big shots. His value to our team is unmistakable. I just got to find a little more rest for him, that’s all.”
Sefko suggested the Bucks’ Khris Middleton as a potential trade target if the Mavericks are able to make a playoff push. In a question-and-answer session, the writer said Middleton would be the kind of building block Dallas needs, but added that he had no inside information to suggest that such a deal had been discussed.
The team is hoping Harris will be back in a week to 10 days, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Harris hasn’t played yet this season because of a sprained right big toe and he will wear a carbon plate in his shoe for protection.

Mavericks Notes: Acy, Gibson, Nowitzki, Barnes

November 20th, 2016 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks’ release of Quincy Acy may not be permanent, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas waived the well-traveled forward on Friday after injuries left the team with a depleted backcourt. A roster spot was needed to bring back guard Jonathan Gibson, and Acy, who had appeared in just six games and was averaging 8.0 minutes per night, was let go. “We tried to get a medical exception, but we didn’t have enough guys injured,” said owner Mark Cuban. “He [Acy] is the best. I told him I’ve paid guys twice and three times in a season before, so be ready. I was heartbroken. We needed point guards. It was just a numbers game.”

There’s more this morning out of Dallas:

Gibson’s 26-point performance Saturday night was the most by an undrafted player in his first or second NBA game in 24 years, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Gibson, 29, had been playing overseas since being going undrafted in 2010.
Cuban believesHarrison Barnes is poised to take over as the face of the franchise once Dirk Nowitzki retires, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Nowitzki, 38, has been limited by Achilles soreness and has gotten into just three games this season. He signed a new deal over the summer paying him $50MM for two years. Barnes, who received more than $94MM over four seasons, has become the team’s leading scorer in his absence. “That happens to every franchise,” Cuban said. “Father Time is undefeated and we’ll have to deal with it. I think Harrison [Barnes] is showing a lot of signs that he can be that person. Not to try to put too much pressure on him, but it’s a job he wants and he’s willing to work for it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to add other pieces that are on the same plain.”
The team has no plans to shut down Nowitzki for an extended period because of the injury, Sefko writes in a separate piece. “We’re just playing it safe with Dirk,” Cuban said. “With so many guys out, there’s no reason to rush him back. The old, ‘If this was a playoff game, he’d be playing.’ But when you’re missing three of your other top six or seven, that puts too much pressure on him.”
With the Mavericks looking like a lottery team after a league-worst 2-10 start, Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News examines some of the players expected to go early in the 2017 draft.

Southwest Rumors: Carter, Barnes, Rockets

November 16th, 2016 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

Vince Carter is turning back the clock with his recent performances, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. Carter, 39, the oldest player in the league, has averaged 17 points over the Grizzlies’ last four games and is shooting 47.4% from the field this season. The former perennial All-Star is in the final year of a three-year contract. His $4.264MM salary this season becomes fully guaranteed if Memphis retains him through New Year’s Day. Carter undergoes extensive treatment on his right ankle to stay on the court, MacMahon details, but he might have some options next summer if he continues to perform at this level. “The way he’s still playing, retire for what?” Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph told MacMahon. “Give him a two- or three-year deal! That’s what I’d do.”

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes is still adjusting to being a go-to guy, The Vertical’s Michael Lee reports. Barnes is averaging 22.3 points and shooting 49.1% in his first nine games with Dallas after signing a four-year max contract this summer. He never averaged more than 11.7 points in his four seasons with the Warriors. “Coming into this situation, in my four years of being in the NBA, I’ve never been a focal point. So, it’s going to take some time,” Barnes told Lee. “I have to embrace that process.”
No progress has been made between the Rockets and power forward Donatas Motiejunas, the only unsigned restricted free agent in the league, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston reportedly offered Motiejunas is a multiyear contract that started at a fully guaranteed $7MM in year one. Motiejunas’ $4.4MM qualifying offer expired last month. He was traded to the Pistons in February, but Detroit rescinded the deal because of long-range concerns over his surgically-repaired back.
Dirk Nowitzki must be fully recovered from his right Achilles tendon injury before he returns to action, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki has missed four games with soreness in his Achilles. “He wants to get back, that’s for sure,” Carlisle told Sefko. “But he understands and we understand that he’s got to be right before he comes back. We don’t want him coming back for a game or two, then sitting another week. We’ve got to be vigilant about making sure he’s fully recovered before coming back, even if it takes awhile.”