Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Agree on $50 Million Deal

The Dallas Mavericks have been very busy this offseason looking just about everywhere they can to get the roster set for the upcoming season. From free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, to rookies, to undrafted players, and even overseas, Dallas has done their research.

Because of the amount of youth brought in this year, the contracts and money distribution looks much different than the normal Mavs roster. What has historically been smaller contracts for a group of veteran players has been replaced with minimum level contracts to rookies and younger players looking for their place in the league.

After missing out on our big targets in free agency, we ended up with only one max level player in the current salary format, Harrison Barnes. This leaves money on the table for other players and one man in particular looks to benefit from that.

Dirk Nowitzki has come to terms with Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks with a two-year, $50 million dollar contract. This agreement will pay Dirk $25 million a year into his 20th season in the NBA and with the Mavericks.

The contract does appear to be a team option in the 2nd year, basically stating that if Dirk decides to retire, he can. The deal guarantees $30 million of the contract, meaning he will get his $25 million this year and will get $5 of the $25 next year if he chooses to retire.

Many people have chosen to look at this deal with Dirk as just another Kobe Bryant agreement for the face of a franchise reaching his twilight years. However, I urge all Mavs fans to not buy into this thinking for three reasons.

1.) Dirk has already given his discount.

Nowitzki may be making more money than most would pay him this year. That tends to happen on occasion, especially when that person has done so much for a franchise like Dallas. But people tend to forget that Dirk has already taken money out of his wallet to help the organization.

The last two years of Dirk in Dallas have been for $8 million a year. He was the 3rd highest paid player on the team last year and would’ve taken less if the team needed it. To compare that to Kobe, the contract before his final two-year, $50 million deal was a three-year, $92 million agreement. Slightly more than Dirk’s three-year, $24 million.

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2.) Dirk’s production has not declined much.

It is hard to say bad things about Kobe on the basketball court. He is considered one of the greatest to ever play the game, and for good reason. But people were up in arms about the contract the Lakers gave him, not because they don’t appreciate who he is, but because his injuries the few years prior were majorly debilitating for the franchise.

To contrast from Kobe’s lowest yeas of his career, Dirk led the team in scoring once again last season. Although it wasn’t the show that we had grown to love from Nowitzki, he still showed that he is highly productive on the court at all times. That is something worth having no matter what.

3.) Contracts are different.

When Kobe Bryant signed his big contract with the Lakers, he was the highest paid player in the league. Comparatively, with the salary cap elevation of this season, Dirk Nowitzki making $25 million puts him currently as the 6th highest paid player in the league behind Mike Conley, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Al Horford.

More players, includin LeBron James, will probably be above Dirk on that list before things are all said and done, but it all really comes down to the fact that Dirk Nowitzki brought Dallas our only championship in franchise history. He deserves every penny we offered and more.

Next: Dallas Mavericks Sign Kyle Collinsworth

Dirk will be making a lot of money over the next two years and Dallas is happy to keep the face of our franchise happy as long as he stays here in our city. Congratulations on the contract agreement Dirk, MFFLs will have your back no matter what.