Dirk Nowitzki Will Wait for Free Agency to Re-Sign With the Mavericks

Dallas won’t give Dirk Nowitzki the Kobe treatment, and that’s just fine with the big German. Dirk says he’s happy to wait until the summer for his next payday from the Mavs. Per the Dallas Morning News: “Nowitzki said an extension ‘was never a discussion,’ and he will wait until next summer to determine his market value and sign a new contract with the Mavericks. ‘I don’t really want to look forward too much,’ Nowitzki said. ‘I’m not going to extend obviously. I’m going to play the season out and we can talk about it this summer. I want to have a good season, an injury free season and then Holger’s going to take his leather coat and go in the bunker suite and we’ll go from there.’ That would be Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki’s personal coach and representative when it comes to contracts. Nowitzki is in the final year of his four-year, $80-million deal he signed in 2010. He makes $22.7 million this season and is on record as saying he expects to take a significant pay cut moving forward. ‘But for me, I want to go back to the playoffs with this team and we have a real shot at it,’ he said. ‘That’s really what I’m focusing on. I’m not really worried about any extensions. Obviously, it’s good for Kobe. That’s a lot of money for a guy that’s 36 years old. But if one guy has earned it, it’s Kobe.’ […] ‘My contract is coming off, Trix (Shawn Marion) is coming off, Vince (Carter),’ Nowitzki said. ‘Obviously, there’s a lot of money under the cap and we can make this team better. But I’m more worried about this season.'”