Dirk Nowitzki Would Take Paycut for Mavs to Sign Dwight Howard or Chris Paul


The good news for Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, is that Dirk Nowitzki says he’d be happy to shave off some of his salary if it means the team could then acquire some of the top free agents this summer (namely, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard). Now comes the hard part—getting either guy to sign on the dotted line. Per the Dallas Morning News (via KRLD-FM 105.3): “On a difficult 2012-13 season: Dirk Nowitzki: ‘It’s a little disappointing obviously. We’re only two years removed from a championship. This was a tough year, as tough as it gets for me, being out for almost two months. The good thing is, it’s easier to turn a franchise around if you have cap space. You can go for free agents, you can go for a big sign-and-trade. We could be a lot worse off and be locked in on a bunch of contracts. And we’ve got the draft. This is a big summer for us. I think Cuban is as fired up as me. I’ve been to the gym a couple of times working out already; I see him in his little box suite, going to work already.’ […] On the pitch to free agents: Dirk Nowitzki: ‘I’ll definitely be a little involved. But I’ll be in the draft ‘war room’ for the first time … order some pizza and talk some basketball. I got one year left on this deal and then I’m coming off the books. So if that helps for us to be better I’m going to take a paycut. That’s part of the pitch. Cuban and Donnie have got to be part of the pitch. I think Dallas and the fans here, the sellout streak, the city to live in is gorgeous and has gotta be in the top five in the league. Hopefully, some of those guys will decide to come, and if not, we’ve gotta have a plan B. If none of those top free agents come, we gotta make some moves with sign and trades or something. We want to get back to the playoffs and be a factor. We owe it to these fans who come out every single night to support us.'”