Dirk Nowitzki Told Mark Cuban the Mavs Couldn’t Shoot or Pass Last Year

Prior to the start of last season, Dirk “Debbie-downer” Nowitzki walked up to his boss, Mark Cuban, and correctly announced that his team couldn’t shoot or pass. Cuban says things are much more positive this season. Per the Dallas Morning News (via ESPN Radio): “On what fans can expect from the Mavs this year: ‘I think they’re going to be reminded of the Mavs from 2011, from 2006 and ’07. We move the ball. There’s that beauty of the ball going around the perimeter, to move faster than the defense, and hit the guy with a wide-open shot. They’re going to love that. If you watched the game last night, and you saw Samuel Dalembert blocking shots. Look, he’s not as good a rebounder as Dwight, but he went, what, 13 and 7 in 25 minutes? And Dwight had 15 and 17, but Sam battles and he’ll defend, and he’ll work hard, and he’ll run, and I think people are going to be so pleasantly surprised given our history of centers minus one year.’ On the negative perception on the Mavs: ‘If those people really were any good at what they do, they’d be in Vegas. They wouldn’t be writing about it. I don’t see a whole lot of creed into what they say. I know I say it every year, so I’m a 14 year broken record, but I like our team. If we stay healthy, I think Dirk has got a lot to prove, and he’s working hard at it. I think Trix and Vince have come back ready to play. What I can tell everybody is we’ve got a new spirit, a new energy where we’ve got everybody really focused in. Something that I haven’t said publicly, I remember last year when we went to Europe, and I was kind of excited like I normally am, and we had gotten Darron [Collison], and we had gotten Kaman, and Elton Brand, and O.J., and I thought we kind of were fortunate to get the guys we did, and Dirk came up to me and said, ‘We can’t pass, and we can’t shoot. Our guards aren’t there.’ This is the preseason, and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ and he’s like, ‘Sorry, bro.’ And Dirk is kind of a Debbie-downer. He and J-Kidd were always that way where it was always the worst ever, and then he digs in and he’s a warrior, but that was the first time I’d ever really heard him say anything that negative, and he was right. This year, you talk to Dirk, and he just smiles and shakes his head. And when you get that out of Dirk, that shows that I think he’s fired up, he’s ready.”