Dirk Nowitzki might be a free agent come July 1, but the veteran has zero interest in testing the market. While admitting that he does have a slight fear regarding the uncertainty of his future, he notes that the chance he leaves the Dallas Mavericks are slim to none. As Nowitzki and Mark Cuban begin negotiations on a favorable contract extension, can another team sweep in and grab Nowitzki?
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Houston Rockets are hoping to be contenders to sign Nowitzki after they announced that Chandler Parsons would be allowed to test the market. Nowitzki might be an unrestricted free agent, but he laughing at the idea that he will play out the remaining years of his career with the Houston Rockets.
"The quote was more that they're going for every guy that's out there," Nowitzki said, via Sports Day DFW. "And that, I guess, includes me. But I doubt I'll be out there long. At this point of my career, it's all about competing and winning. 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."
The Rockets are expecting to be players for both Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony come the offseason which is ambitious. However, Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders is reporting that the team would be better suited targeting a "savvy veteran" instead of another hot shot to help guide the team. He lists players like Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko and Thabo Sefolosha as the best fits on the market for the Rockets.
Having two superstars like James Harden and Dwight Howard might hurt get players like Anthony in free agency. He and Harden are not pass-first players and could have a hard time co-existing on the court. However, getting a veteran on the court would help change up the roster slightly. Houston cannot expect to win with the same roster and coach in place. While getting rid of Parsons and trading players like Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik could help, they need some veteran leadership on the court.
According to Ingram the Rockets have several players on their wishlist outside of Anthony and Love. They might consider a trade for LaMarcus Aldridge or try and sign forward Trevor Ariza. Houston cannot have a bad offseason per say, but the team has to make adjustments if they expect to get further in the postseason.