Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he will not trade Dirk Nowitzki

It’s a sad moment for anybody to go through – fans, ownership, the organization and especially the player.

After spending the vast majority of your career in one place, you’re traded because you’re no longer valuable due to your declining game. It’s happened to so many, but Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says it will not happen to Dirk Nowitzki, who he refuses to trade.

From a basketball standpoint, trading Nowitzki might have made sense this offseason, especially after Dallas became aware they weren’t going to sign either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. But rather than ship off their longtime star, the Mavericks opted to re-tool rather than re-build.

So why not trade the German born star? Because Cuban thinks, even as Dirk’s game slowly declines, his work ethic brings much more to the organization than his on-court game:

"On why he won’t trade DirkMark Cuban: Dirk defines our culture. When your best player, no matter how old, is the first one in the gym and the last to leave, and works the hardest and encourages guys the way Dirk does … that has a value that goes far beyond what you see on the court."