Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is doing his best to squelch long-standing rumors that Dirk Nowitzki took less money to stay in Dallas.
Cuban puts Nowitzki’s contract situation up to one for current Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. In 2011, the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat for the NBA championship. That was a Heat team with James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh as its nucleus.
Nowitzki put together career averages of 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
“He didn’t take less,” Cuban said of Nowitzki. “What they’re trying to tell you is that if he would’ve opted out — you know how LeBron opted out and signed another contract? So that really wasn’t done 10 years ago, right?
“So Dirk just signed the max contract that was there rather than opting out and doing one at a time. And so that was when people were talking about him leaving money on the table.”
Mark Cuban Says Nowitzki Liked Having Long-Term Deal
Cuban said the 7-foot German forward could have made some more money but liked the security of a long-term deal.
Nowitzki did that “where LeBron bet on himself more than anything else, right?” Cuban said. “And so, you could argue that he took 8 million one year and he could’ve gotten a little more but, we saved some money for the free agency so maybe 5-10 million dollars in total.
“With Dirk, we would’ve done whatever Dirk wanted,” Cuban said. “And this is the way Dirk wanted it.”
Nowitzki was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2007.
In thinking about Nowitzski’s place in NBA history, consider these points. He is considered one of the game’s top power forwards. In addition, he’s possibly the greatest European player of all time.
He retired from NBA play in 2019.
Speaking of the 2011 playoffs, here are some highlights from Nowitzki’s play that season.
Cuban Wants Seattle To Have NBA Franchise Once Again
Recently, Cuban showed up as a guest on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s podcast “DangeTalk.” They talked about bringing the NBA back to Seattle.
The Seattle SuperSonics played there for more than 40 years. The franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, Okla., and changed its name to the Thunder.
“Hey, I’m there for you,” Cuban said. “I voted against them leaving. So I’m right there with you. I think we need a team there too.”
“Seattle’s like the best best place. If anywhere needs basketball, it’s Seattle,” Wilson replied. “Just the tradition of basketball in Washington is amazing. But, we need to fight for that. You and I need to go together to bat for basketball back in Seattle.”
“I’m already there! If we expand, there’s a couple cities, and Seattle’s probably right at the top of the list,” Cuban said.
After doing Wilson’s podcast, Cuban sent this out on social media along with a snippet of their conversation.
H/T: Heavy.com
