Mavericks looking to sign superstar in free agency, Nowitzki willing to sacrifice deal.
Dirk Nowitzki is reportedly ready to take a “significant pay cut” in order to allow the Dallas Mavericks to become competitive next season.
The Mavs missed out on the playoffs this year following a difficult regular season, and as a result have been linked with making big moves this summer.
They are likely to target a superstar in free agency, with the likes of Chris Paul and Dwight Howard amongst their potential signings, and reports suggest Nowtizki is ready to be flexible in order to allow the franchise to land one of them.
The veteran’s move will give Mavericks owner Mark Cuban plenty of salary cap space to work with and he revealed exactly why he would be willing to sacrifice financial gain.
“At this point my career, it’s all about competing and winning,” he told reporters at a public event as reported by ESPN.
“It’s not about money. Obviously, Cuban took care of me for a long, long time. I always tried to pay him back by hard playing and being here for this franchise, so I don’t think we’re going to fight over money. I want to compete over these last couple of years. That’s going to be the goal.”
The 34-year old is set to make $22.7m in the last year of his contract next season, but despite his advancing years he still has a higher salary than every NBA player except Kobe Bryant.
Nowitzki made a similar promise ahead of Dallas’ championship winning season in 2011, where he signed a $80m four-year deal, instead of taking the maximum of $96m. As a result the Mavericks were able to land Tyson Chandler, who played an integral role in their success moving forward.
The 11-time All Star is hoping to help put all the pieces in place for the franchise to be able to compete both in the free agency market and on the court, and while he is ready to commit his last few years in the league to Dallas, he is willing to sacrifice money to obtain success
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