Mavericks' dream Dirk Nowitzki reunion could fall apart quickly

Many Dallas Mavericks fans are pleading for Dirk Nowitzki to become the team's next general manager after Nico Harrison was fired last week, but this move wouldn't be the sweet reunion that they expect. Nowitzki still has a strong connection with Mavericks fans and the city, but this doesn't necessarily lead to success as a GM.

While Nowitzki needs to find his way back to the organization in some regard at some point, him being the team's next GM comes with major risks that fans don't even realize. Even though he played 21 years in the NBA, he has no experience in basketball operations (outside of an "adviser" role that was extremely limited). Making this big a jump is not common, and it could even tarnish his Mavericks legacy if things didn't go according to plan.

While Nowitzki will always be known as the greatest Maverick ever and be loved in Dallas, a couple of bad moves as the team's GM could cause fans to turn on him. This is the last thing that the Mavericks should want considering that he is the team's most iconic player to ever wear their jersey along with Luka Doncic, and they can't afford for things to go south there.

Mavericks shouldn't even consider making Dirk Nowitzki their next GM

Nowitzki would obviously have a cabinet working alongside him to help him make decisions if he ever became the team's general manager, but if one trade or free agency signing went bad, the fan base could point their finger at him and blame him immediately. We saw the same thing happen to Jerry West as general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers due to some of the decisions he made at the end of his tenure there, and Dallas shouldn't tiptoe that tightrope with their franchise legend.

He has already been the franchise's hero once. He shouldn't have to do it again.

Nowitzki should always be remembered in Dallas for his excellence on the court and bringing the city their one and only championship. He shouldn't have to be in charge of rebuilding a team, that after this year, doesn't own their own first-round pick until 2031.

This is not going to be an easy task, and on top of this, he seems to be enjoying his new job covering the NBA on Amazon Prime. Nowitzki has done a great job this season as an in-studio analyst on Amazon Prime, even going viral for his rant on the Mavs and Nico Harrison earlier this month, and this type of low-pressure position seems like the best fit for him as he enjoys life outside the NBA.

He is still involved with the league every day, as he gets to talk about the game he loves while not having an attachment to any one team, and this may have been the perfect change of speed for him. This job at Amazon may not last forever, leaving the door open for him to rejoin the Mavericks in some sort of role, but it doesn't need to be general manager.

Involving Nowitzki as an adviser seems to be the perfect plan, as he would have his hand in basketball decision-making while not being the dealmaker, and this would help preserve his legacy in the city to the highest degree. His understanding of the franchise's history, as well as the game of basketball as a whole, would make him a great addition to the Mavericks.

Patrick Dumont should do everything in his power to repair the team's tarnished relationship with him, just not by making him the general manager.