jpzx
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Has to be worth it's own thread. Dirk will be one of the most sought after FAs if this is indeed true.
More fuel to the 2010 Free Agent Class
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More fuel to the 2010 Free Agent Class
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[h2]Sources: Nowitzki to opt out[/h2]By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
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The Dallas Mavericks are expecting star forward Dirk Nowitzkito opt out of his contract late next month and become an unrestrictedfree agent July 1, according to sources close to the situation.
The Mavericks, though, continue to negotiate with Nowitzki on acontract extension in hopes of convincing him to pre-empt his freeagency. They remain confident that the leading scorer in franchisehistory is staying with the only team with which he's ever played, evenif Nowitzki winds up joining the most anticipated free-agent class inleague history.
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The sides have until the end of June to reach terms on an extensionthat would keep Nowitzki off the open market, but sources told ESPN.comthis week that it's more likely -- with free agency less than 40 daysaway -- that the nine-time All-Star becomes an unrestricted free agentfor the first time in his career.
"That wouldn't change our approach one bit," Mavericks president ofbasketball operations Donnie Nelson told ESPN.com when asked about theprospect of Nowitzki exercising his opt-out clause.
"We're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure Dirk is aMaverick for a long, long time," Nelson added, describing teammanagement as "hopeful, optimistic and expectant" about reaching termswith Nowitzki on a new deal.
Although the opt-out scenario would expose the Mavericks to thepossibility of another team swooping in to sign him away, as seen inthe summer of 2004 when the Phoenix Suns stunningly pilfered Steve Nash,numerous executives around the league remain doubtful that they can pryNowitzki from the grasp of Mark Cuban, given the close bond they'veforged through Cuban's 10 1/2-year reign.
"It's impossible for us to imagine Dirk in any other uniform," saidNelson, who was instrumental in the pre-Cuban maneuverings on draft dayin 1998 that landed Nowitzki and Nash in Dallas in separate trades.
"I think his heart is in Dallas. You learn to never say never in thisbusiness, but from our perspective we will be doing everything possibleto keep him right here."
Nowitzki, who left this week for his annual return to Europe, could not immediately be reached.
Cuban likewise could not immediately be reached but insisted in arecent radio interview with KTCK-AM in Dallas that he believes Nowitzkiisn't "going anywhere."
Even if his intention is to stay with the Mavericks as opposed totesting the market, Nowitzki has at least two contractual incentives toopt out and sign a new deal, as opposed to extending his currentcontract on top of his successful history with Cuban and the team'sintention to flank him with a major sign-and-trade acquisition.
Opting out to sign a new deal, for starters, would lock in terms basedon the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement through the lifeof the next contract. Under the league's current system, Nowitzki iseligible for a four-year maximum contract from Dallas worth $96.2million once he opts out. The most he could receive from another teamis a four-year deal worth $93.1 million.
Signing a three-year extension to the last remaining season on hiscurrent contract, by contrast, would expose Nowitzki to potentialafter-the-fact reductions to his annual wage if league owners aresuccessful in their attempts to lower the value of maximum salaries inthe next collective bargaining agreement.
Players with max-salary extensions that start in 2011, such as those signed earlier this season by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, might be facing unforeseen rollbacks depending on how drastically salaries are reduced in a new CBA.
Another motivation for Nowitzki to opt out as opposed to signing anextension is the ability to secure a no-trade clause in a new contract.
Only players with at least eight years of NBA service time and fourseasons with the same team are eligible to have a no-trade clause intheir contracts, but such clauses can only be added to new deals. NBArules prevent major changes, such as adding a no-trade clause, to anexisting contract or an extension to a contract, which is largely whyBryant possesses the league's only active no-trade clause.
Bryant secured a no-trade provision when he became an unrestricted freeagent in the summer of 2004 and received a new seven-year, $136 milliondeal from the Lakers. Yet most star players such as Nowitzki andBoston's Paul Pierce-- who will also have to decide by the end of June whether to opt outif he doesn't negotiate an extension -- sign extensions before theyever get to unrestricted free agency, denying them the opportunity toscore a no-trade clause.
In a recent radio interview with KTCK-AM in Dallas, Cuban said: "Well,I can see the circumstances where he would opt out but not necessarilyleave the franchise. ... Dirk told me that if he can help the team getbetter, he would sign a different deal. So we made the decision to seewhat was going to be out there and how things played out and worktogether."
By "different deal," it's believed that Cuban was suggesting Nowitzkiwill consider signing for less than a max contract if he's convincedthat providing a discount will get him more roster help. Theimplication is that any financial relief through reduced luxury-taxpayments Cuban gains in that scenario would encourage him to continuepursuing expensive trades, such as the pricy midseason swap with the Washington Wizards that landed Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood.
Another round of roster retooling is expected in Dallas because thattrade -- although initially hailed as a potential landscape-changer inthe West -- couldn't prevent the Mavericks from losing to longtimerival San Antonio in the first round, thus sparking fresh questionsabout the long-term potential of the Mavs' aging roster beyond Nowitzkiand promising guard Rodrigue Beaubois.
Nowitzki turns 32 in June, which brings the league's over-36 rule intoplay. Because of that rule and Nowitzki's age, Dallas does not have theadvantage of offering him a new contract that's one year longer thanrival teams can offer. Cleveland's LeBron Jamesand Miami's Dwayne Wade, for example, are young enough to commandsix-year deals from their current clubs as opposed to the maximum fiveyears that can be offered by other teams.
The Mavericks also know that Nowitzki would almost certainly command a four-year max contract from teams such as the New York Knicks and New Jersey Netsif he fielded pitches on the open market, since he would instantlybecome one of the most coveted free agents in the 2010 class along withJames, Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire. So Dallas must sell Nowitzki on its plan to stay in the West's elite to get him to consent to any sort of discount.
If the sides unexpectedly reach terms on an extension before freeagency, Nowitzki is only eligible to receive an additional three yearstacked onto next season's scheduled $21.5 million because of theover-36 rule.
"I don't think Dirk's going anywhere," Cuban said in his recent radioappearance. "I said the same thing about [Steve] Nash, but I don'tthink this is a similar situation.
"Dirk'sbeen with this team more than 10 years versus four or five when Steveleft, so it's a different situation. And I think Dirk is as committedas I am to bringing a championship to the Mavericks."
Re-signing Nowitzki is a must for the Mavericks on several levels. Notonly have they won 50 games for 10 consecutive seasons with Nowitzki astheir focal point, but Nowitzki's presence is central to Cuban's planned offseason pursuit of an elite free agent.
Sources say Dallas has been planning for months to use Erick Dampier'sfully unguaranteed $13 million contract for next season and perhapsButler or Haywood as trade chips in forthcoming sign-and-trade offersfor free agents such as Cleveland's James and Atlanta's Joe Johnson, but attracting a player of that caliber rides on the prospect of teaming up with Nowitzki.
Although he has said many times that winning a championship in anotheruniform wouldn't "feel right," given his long association with theMavericks, Nowitzki would not commit to a return after Dallas' Game 6loss to the Spurs. In an interview the day after the defeat, Nowitzkireiterated that finishing his career in Dallas "was always my plan" butinsisted that "I just have to keep my options open at this point" afterthe disappointment of the Mavs' third first-round exit in a span offour seasons.
TheMavericks privately acknowledge that Nowitzki, despite Dallas' habit ofcarrying one of the league's highest payrolls every season, needs moretop-tier help to get the the team back to the Finals. Like Jamesthroughout his Cleveland career, Nowitzki hasn't played with aconsistently All-Star caliber player since Nash's departure in 2004.
EvenNash's peak was reached in Phoenix in his back-to-back MVP seasons in2005 and 2006, leaving Nowitzki to carry deep but otherwise starlessrosters for the last six seasons.
Having seen the impact of Gasol's arrival in Los Angeles on Bryant's career and the difference playing with Pierce, Ray Allen and the emerging Rajon Rondo has made for Kevin Garnett,Cuban has spoken often of his determination to strike his ownGasol-style trade. Even if Beaubois keeps developing and ultimatelylives up to optimistic comparisons with Rondo and Tony Parker, Dallas realizes it needs to flank Nowitzki with a elite sidekick.
"I don't think that you guys would disagree with me or that anybodylistening would disagree that he's earned the right to take some timeand think about things," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said during arecent "Galloway & Company" appearance on ESPN Radio in Dallas(103.3 FM).
"Let'sface it: He has had a tough run here with playoff basketball and therehave been some very disappointing endings to seasons. But I'll tellyou this -- and in the face of some of the personal things he's had todeal with -- this guy has been an absolute great player. Beyond belief.If you don't give him his due there, then you're not being right,you're not thinking straight and you're not telling it like it is.
"Give the guy some space. Let him think about what he needs to thinkabout. He and Mark will get it worked out and things will go on fromthere. But he's earned the right to have some time to ponder things."
Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNDallas.com.
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