NBA Free Agency Rumors: Dirk Nowitzki signs two-year deal with Mavericks
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Dirk Nowitzki has agreed to a two-year deal worth $40 million with the Dallas Mavericks.
After a rough start to their offseason, the Dallas Mavericks having been picking things up over the past 24 hours. They have already reportedly agreed to terms with restricted free agent Harrison Barnes as well as traded for Andrew Bogut.
According to Marc Stein, the Mavericks have now agreed in principle to a two-year deal worth $40 million with Dirk Nowitzki.
Story online soon @espn: Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki have come to terms on the framework of a new two-year, $40 million deal, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 5, 2016
After the Warriors agreed in principle to a deal with Kevin Durant, returning to the Mavericks was the only real choice for Nowitzki. He is still one of the best players in the NBA and remains arguably the best stretch four. In 2015-16, he averaged 18.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. Nowitzki shot 36.8 percent from three point range and 44.8 percent from the field.
Age has slowly crept up to Nowitzki but he still had a PER of 19.0 in 2015-16. He’s still a very dangerous player despite turning 38 years old in June. Nowitzki is expected to play a huge role with the Mavericks once again, but the Mavericks should look for a way to limit his minutes. If they can find a way to cut his minutes down so he plays under 30 minutes a night, that would help keep him fresh.
Next: NBA: 2000s All-Decade First Team
Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2005-06 and the NBA Finals MVP award in 2010-11. The 13-time All-Star will be playing in his 19th NBA season in 2016-17.
For more NBA Free Agency coverage, check out our NBA hub page.