Dirk Nowitzki not retiring, hopes to finish career with Mavericks

The Internet was buzzing with rumors that Dirk Nowitzki had played his final NBA game for the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder and was on the verge of riding off into the sunset.

Some of the news got started when coach Rick Carlisle addressed Nowitzki’s upcoming free agency after the Thunder eliminated the Mavericks in five games in the first round of the playoffs with a 118-104 series-clinching victory. But during the Mavs’ exit interviews Tuesday, Nowitzki quashed any fears of his departure from the only franchise he’s played for during his 18-year career.

“I’ve never said I was going to leave this franchise,” said Nowitzki, who turns 38 on June 19. “The only way I would ever leave is when we do rebuilding and start with five rookies, and then obviously that’s not something I want to be a part of. But as long as we go for it and compete, then I’ll be a Mav.”

Told of Nowitzki’s remarks, particularly the one about the five rookies, Carlisle said: “That’s good to hear. I hope it’s that simple.”

Nowitzki can opt-out of the final year of a three-year, $25 million contract he signed in the summer of 2014. While it’s a given that that’s what he plans to do, Nowitzki added another sure thing to the equation.

“I definitely won’t retire,” he said. “That’s out of the question. I felt great this year. I felt like I can still play efficient enough to be there for the team.”

Besides re-signing Nowitzki to a respectable contract, the Mavericks must also use the off-season to reload and figure out how to advance farther in the playoffs. Dallas hasn’t gotten out of the first round since winning its lone NBA title in 2011.

This year the Mavericks had to go 7-1 during a late-season eight-game stretch just to qualify for the playoffs for the 15th time in 16 years. However, the Mavericks’ 42-40 regular-season record and sixth seed in the rugged Western Conference earned them a first-round date with the Thunder, which dispatched them in five games.

Injuries were at the core of what ailed the Mavericks this season. Small forward Chandler Parsons had season-ending surgery on his same right knee that required surgery and ended his season late last season. And point guard Deron Williams didn’t make the trip to Oklahoma City for Game 5 because he aggravated his sports hernia.

“I had another MRI and went and saw a specialist and its gotten worst, so I’m going to have to have it repaired,” Williams said. “I’ve got to let my [strained] abductor heal first for about a month and then repair the sports hernia.

“It’s not that long a recovery — I think six weeks — and you can go back to pretty much doing everything. And so once I get it fixed, that’ll cure the problem.”

Like Nowitzki, Williams has a player option to become a free agent this summer. But the native of The Colony said he thoroughly enjoyed his first season — minus the injuries — playing near his hometown.

Parsons can also opt-out of his contract this summer. So his plans of helping the Mavericks recruit some big-name free agents — he almost lassoed DeAndre Jordan last summer — are on hold for now.

“Obviously it’s tough to recruit if I don’t know where I’m going,” Parsons said. “In the back of my head, Dallas is home to me and I love it here.”

Parsons said he would love to re-sign with the Mavericks and bring Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard along with him. Parsons helped the Rockets sign Howard in 2013, and Howard will become a free agent again this summer.

“I think he can still dominate the game,” Parsons said. “I think he still can be a great player in this league, and I think he’s going to leave Houston, so why not come here?”

Raymond Felton, Zaza Pachulia, David Lee and Charlie Villanueva are the Mavs’ unrestricted free agents. Also, Dwight Powell is a restricted free agent and the Mavericks have a team option on JaVale McGee.

“This year even though we didn’t get out of the first round, I thought the guys that we had available competed like champions,” Carlisle said. “I didn’t think that there was anything more that they could do competitively than they did.

“To see those guys hitting the floor [Monday] night through the entire game just playing their guts out was a proud thing for me to see. Nobody likes losing, but when you do your best that’s all you can do.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Dirk Nowitzki not retiring, hopes to finish career with Mavericks."