The Dallas Mavericks owe it to Dirk to keep fighting until the number 41 is hanging in the rafters. It seems that Carlisle and Cuban both agree.
Dirk Nowitzki is the Dallas Mavericks and has been for nearly two decades. Through a 19 year career so far, Dirk has 1 championship ring, 1 MVP title, and 1 Finals MVP title. He has never suited up for any teams besides the Dallas Mavericks and the Western Conference All-Star team. We owe him.
The Mavs are currently sitting at 2-10 on the season and hope is a term that most fans would be silly to use. Dallas could not be in a worse place in the league currently and they just seem to keep finding new ways to lose a game.
Through all the trials and frustrations though, Coach Carlisle is staying strong and hoping for this team to compete again once healthy. A lot of that is going to rest on the shoulders of our journeyman, Dirk Nowitzki.
It doesn’t seem fair on the surface that we have focused so much of our success on his availability throughout his career, but really Dallas does not know how to win games without him on the court. That is more evident this season than ever before.
Because of Dirk’s injury, many fans are calling for a tank season so that the Mavericks can capitalize on one of the best draft classes in years. No one really wants to jump on board with it though because we see the things that Harrison Barnes has been capable of and we know that once Dirk is back, things will change again.
Nov 16, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes (40) drives to the basket past Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) during the xx half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
But, aside from all of that, every Mavs fan knows deep down that Dirk deserves everything we can offer him right now. Clearly we can’t count on the fact that he will stick around another season, especially considering the injury problems he has had so far this year.
For that reason, don’t expect Carlisle to ever divulge a plan to cut our losses and get in the lottery. It is not something he is comfortable doing and it is not something Dirk wants to be a part of.
Nowitzki is less than 500 points away from being the 6th NBA player in history to break 30,000 and every Mavs fan wants to see it happen. He has also only missed the playoffs three times in his NBA career, once since the beginning of the 21st century. It just seems wrong that one of the greatest of all time could go out like this.
No matter what happens, Dirk will always be the greatest Dallas Maverick in history and the organization and fans will do whatever we can to make his last few years peaceful and enjoyable. If the rebuild does not happen this year, then it is because we have given Dirk another year to fight off Father Time. And that is a worth endeavor.
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