The Dallas Mavericks are ready to make a big push in free agency for either Dwight Howard or Chris Paul and Dirk Nowitzki is proving to be a big help in that area, as he has agreed to take a significant pay cut to help the team sign one of the free agent stars.
According to ESPN.com, Dirk is prepared to take a "significant pay cut" next summer to help the team sign a big free agent in 2014, including LeBron James, and it could also help as the team moves this summer on options with Dwight Howard and Chris Paul as the team tried to restock after ditching many players from their championship teams two years ago. Nowitzki cited the will to win as a reason for doing it and that he was willing to meet with both players to primes them that there will be room for them if they join the team this summer.
Nowitzki has been a good player for Dallas and he gave them a solid contract in his four-year, $80 million deal after being able to take up to $96 at the time and the team was able to get Tyson Chandler, which helped them win a championship. Dirk will still be getting paid a lot, as he is due $22.7 million in the last year of his deal, but he is ready to help the team win in any way that he can and one of the biggest things he can do is give them more space to sign other players.
Luckily for the Mavs they are clear in 2014-15 with just Jared Cunningham and Jae Crowder on the books and now Dirk will try and help the team woo the stars to get back to the finals after winning his first championship over the Miami Heat two years ago. Dirk has made up near $200 million during his career and now he wants to win more games and despite having a rough year while dealing with injuries, he is expected to be healthy for next season. The Mavericks were just .500 this season as they try to recover from that fire sale, but Cuban is gearing up for another run at some top players, including Paul, Howard and Possibly James later on.
Both players would have to give up a bit since the Clippers and Lakers can sign them to max contracts, but with Dirk in the fold, he may be able to pitch them on coming to Dallas anyway. The team ranked eighth in the league in scoring last season and 16th in rebounding, and while they were fifth in assists, they struggled on defense and ranked 27th in points allowed.
"At this point of my career, it's all about competing and winning," Nowitzki said Thursday after an event to promote AT&T's "It Can Wait" program, which urges people not to text and drive. "It's not about money. Obviously, Cuban took care of me for a long, long time. I always tried to pay him back by hard playing and being here for this franchise, so I don't think we're going to fight over money. I want to compete over these last couple of years. That's going to be the goal."