Mavericks president thinks Dirk Nowitzki will play past 40

The Dallas Mavericks signed Dirk Nowtizki to a very team-friendly contract this offseason, paying the 12-time all star $25 million over the next three seasons.

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But, despite the fact that Nowtizki will be 39 years old by the time his new contract expires, the Mavs are hoping this isn’t the last deal they strike with the greatest player in its franchise’s history.

From Art Garcia of Fox Sports:

"Mavericks president Donnie Nelson hopes to reward Nowitzki’s “sacrifice” in 2017 with what should be a farewell contract.“He understood that we needed flexibility in order to get the team better,” Nelson said from NBA Summer League. “He’s part of the tapestry of the city of Dallas. He’s really a made man in a lot respects if you think about all the superstars that have come through in all the sports, in terms of basketball it doesn’t get any better than Dirk.“He just made a decision to end his career there. Hopefully we can tag another contract on to that. If he drinks from the same water cooler as Jason Kidd, he’ll play until he’s 42.”"

Of course, Dallas wants to Nowtzki to stick around. The 16-year veteran showed no signs of slowing down this past season, averaging 21.6 points (49.7 percent shooting from the floor and 39.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc) and 6.2 rebounds. He probably won’t be able to still put up those types of numbers at age 40, but his game is aging so well that one would have to figure he’ll still be able to help the team.

The Mavericks and Nowtizki have one of the best team-player relationships in all of sports and it doesn’t sound like either is planning on ending it any time soon.