Mark Cuban Not Worried About Dirk Leaving

Nowitzki’s dejection following the Mavs’ early Playoff elimination didn’t faze his boss, who doesn’t think the big German will consider leaving Dallas. ESPN reports: “Nowitzki can opt out of the final season of his contract, but Cuban believes that if that happens, it’ll be so the Mavericks’ franchise player can agree to a new deal to stay in Dallas. ‘Well, I can see the circumstances where he would opt out, but not necessarily leave the franchise,’ Cuban said during an appearance on KTCK-AM. ‘Dirk and I and a bunch of guys spent the weekend together and spent a lot of time talking about it, and we all recognize that we want to get even better and do things to improve the team even more. And Dirk told me that if he can help the team get better, he would sign a different deal. So we made the decision to see what was going to be out there and how things played out and work together. So I don’t think Dirk’s going anywhere. I said the same thing about [Steve] Nash, but I don’t think this is a similar situation. Dirk’s been with this team more than 10 years versus four or five when Steve left, so it’s a different situation. And I think Dirk is as committed as I am to bringing a championship to the Mavericks.”‘