Nowitzki’s wife gives birth to newest member of Mavericks family

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is walking around in a joyful mood after his wife, Jessica, gave birth to the couple’s second child on Monday.

The couple’s newest child, a son, is named Max.

“I was messing with him saying I would have named him Dirk Jr.,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “But that would have been a lot of pressure.’’

The Nowitzkis also have a daughter, Malaika, who was born in July 2013.

“I’m just really happy for him,’’ Parsons said. “I know he really wanted a boy.”

Interesting enough, a bag of baby wipes was on the floor in Parsons’ locker before Tuesday’s game. “I think it’s more of a joke,” Parsons said.

As far as Nowitzki’s playing time goes, the Mavs have been closely monitoring his minutes this season. The 17-year veteran, who turns 37 on June 19, is averaging 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in only 29.5 minutes per game.

“We feel he’s doing well,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “I talked to [head athletic trainer] Casey Smith a lot about it.

“He’s worked extremely hard to get himself to the point now where with 11 games left and some spacing between games that he can finish strong if we continue to manage his minutes the right way. But he is doing well.’’

Character builders

In recent years, the Mavericks have leaned more toward bringing in players with one- or two-year contracts. But under that premise, has it made it more difficult to develop a one-for-all mentality becuase those players are effectively working on their next contract?

“I really think the character of the guys we bring in transcends that,” Carlisle said. “I also believe the other fact of life in the world of the modern NBA [collective bargaining agreement] is that there’s going to be more guys on the last year of their contract on your team.

“For me it’s an opportunity for guys to show a higher level of character and a higher level of professionalism in those instances.”

Carlisle praised the job owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson have done in acquiring quality talent.

“We’ve been in the mode the last few years where we’ve had to be creative in free agency,” Carlisle said. “We’ve had to find creative ways to put the roster together the way we feel we need to [in order] to keep the team competitive with Dirk here, and Donnie and Mark have done a great job with it.”

Tough barometer

When discussing the Mavericks’ remaining schedule, Parsons know there are enough quality teams on it to get Dallas prepared for what it’s going to be like in the playoffs.

“Our entire schedule, what we have left, is a measuring stick, and where we want to get to we have to knock these teams off,” Parsons said. “We wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We want it to be tough; we want it to be a challenge.”

The Mavs have 10 games remaining, including contests against San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City, Houston, Golden State, Phoenix and Portland.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Nowitzki’s wife gives birth to newest member of Mavericks family."