2016 free agency: KD stays in OKC, and Dirk joins him?

Dirk isn’t done, but the Mavericks are, and that is a shame.

The Oklahoma City Thunder move on, their 118-104 first-round clincher Monday sending them off with hopes of slaying the San Antonio Spurs as Thunder fans revel in at least a little more time with their beloved Kevin Durant, free-agent-to-be.

Watching these two unevenly matched teams through five mostly lopsided games stamped home three truths: 1) Durant won’t find a better situation this summer than his current club; 2) Nowitzki, his 18th season in the books and 38th birthday around the corner, still has plenty of game, but risks never reaching the playoffs again by playing out his days in Dallas; 3) There is a match to be made here.

Dirk to the Thunder. Imagine that.

Since Nowitzki shed championship tears five years ago, Dallas has played in 21 playoff games. They won five. He averaged a team-high 18.3 points in the regular season, and poured in a heart-and-soul 20 a game against the superior Thunder. With each lost season, Dirk, forever Dallas’ lone star, looks to pass the torch only to find no one there.

Honk if you see the calvary coming next season.

The Thunder, still the wildest, bumpiest ride in the West, have tried, but failed in these years since trading James Harden to land an efficient and consistent scorer, and particularly from beyond the arc, to complement Durant and fellow superstar (sorry, Mark Cuban) Russell Westbrook.

Hello, Dirk.

If Oklahoma City, an underdog to win it all, puts it together and rumbles to the championship (and injuries to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are making things interesting), there is no need for this. But if it stumbles, Durant’s off-season plan should unfold like this: He agrees to a one-year deal, putting himself and Westbrook on the same contractual timeline. Then he tells Thunder general manager Sam Presti to go get Dirk.

Nowitzki can opt out of the final year of his Dallas deal and become available. He laughed at Houston GM Daryl Morey’s feeble trade attempt two summers ago. This offer, though, even Mr. Loyalty himself would have to at least, well, mull.

The mutual benefits are so obvious they scream louder than Westbrook after a rim-bruising slam. Nowitzki, playing alongside KD and Russ and Serge Ibaka, oh my … and with Enes Kanter and Steven Adams to rebound and defend. Imagine the multi-tasking burden eased from Nowitzki’s sagging shoulders. Imagine the open looks. Imagine the fun.

The Thunder finally get their 3-point man, an all-timer, and so much more. Nowitzki shot 36.8 percent from deep this season, with defenses fixated on him, because, who else?

And even imagine the load lifted from Durant’s still-young, but hardly burden-free shoulders as he hits a decade in the league. Durant has long admired Dirk’s perfectionism on the court and his humility off it. Imagine those late-night shooting sessions.

The beauty of this alliance for Dirk — again, if OKC remains title-less — is it doesn’t go down in history as him desperately chasing a ring. Quite the opposite. He’s got his. He becomes the final piece to the Thunder’s long and now desperate pursuit.

Nowitzki spilled his guts the last couple seasons for a sacrificial salary, $8 million and change this season, but the prize wasn’t anything.

And who will Dirk find in the Mavs’ mystery bag next season? Chandler Parsons, coming off a second knee surgery? Deron Williams, who played it tough, but whose wheels seem shot? Wesley Matthews, J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson are the only players contractually locked in.

Maybe the fight simply to make the playoffs each year is satisfying enough at this late stage for the heart-of-gold Nowitzki, who long ago pledged his allegiance to the Mavs and Cuban and all of DFW.

But even the most die-hard Mavs fans likely wouldn’t blame him if he chose to go. They might even advise him to do so.

After all, Dirk isn’t done, but when it comes to contending, the Mavs are.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 10:37 AM with the headline "2016 free agency: KD stays in OKC, and Dirk joins him?."