“We’re going to try,” he said. “I’m not here telling you we’re only going to do it via the draft. I’m not here telling you we’re going to stick with our young guys and grow them. I’m not here telling you I won’t take back a lot more money in a trade if it gets us where we want to go. It’s all a matter of approach, I guess.”
Translated: The draft, free agents, big contracts other teams want to unload – whatever it takes.
But Nowitzki is still the center of Cuban’s Maverick universe, and while he is on board with Cuban’s plans, he is also objective. Cuban said before the Mavericks had an impressive victory over Denver on Friday that he and general manager Donnie Nelson were responsible for the Mavericks’ fall from champions to the lottery in two years.
When asked if he agreed with Cuban’s assessment, Nowitzki said:
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not Tyson’s fault or J.J.’s. Obviously [after] winning it all, they got a better deal somewhere else. You can’t fault the guys for going where the money is. I guess that’s part of the business and we let the guys go and it is what it is.
“I said it all year long that we can’t judge yet if it was a mistake or not. It’s going to depend on this offseason. If we end up empty-handed again, then maybe it was the wrong decision to let everybody go. But if we make a good move here with this cap space, then maybe it wasn’t all bad. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what summer brings.”
When talking about the strategy of returning to championship competition, Nowitzki often sounds like Cuban. That is a product of Cuban treating Nowitzki like the franchise player that he is – sharing the philosophy, being transparent about plans and making sure that his most important player understands the approach. The two have been together for 13 years and there is little doubt that soon after Nowitzki retires, Cuban will honor him with a statue in front of American Airlines Center.
“Dirk and I have been through this for so long I can finish his sentences when he talks to the media,” Cuban said. “The only thing that has changed in 15 years is he doesn’t use the word ‘circus’ as often. Everything used to be a ‘circus.’
“Look, it didn’t work out the way we planned. It’s all on me and Donnie. Period, end of story. It’s our job to put people in position to succeed. We didn’t do enough of it.”
The offseason will be the basketball equivalent of walking a tightrope with no safety net. If the Mavericks don’t hit big with Howard or Chris Paul (even less likely than getting Howard), they will be left to do exactly what they did this season – only they have to find players superior to 
Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo.
Nowitzki admits he’s not sure whether to be excited about the positive possibilities or be concerned about another summer when Cuban will again swing for the fences but also could strike out.
“Well, the Germans are usually more negative, so I got that from my mom,” Nowitzki said, smiling, “So I’m probably more concerned. But also excited. We’ve got a lot of roster room. Obviously. We’ve got eight, nine free agents and we’ll see. We’ll bring some of the guys back. Free agency is always a period that’s exciting when you’ve got cap space. We have a draft pick obviously. Maybe I’ll be in the war room for the first time in my career.”
Nowitzki has done it all for Dallas – so why not contribute his opinion in the draft?
As Cuban embarks on attempting to quickly recreate a championship team, he has Nowitzki as his main selling point. Here is a guy who seems so easy-going, yet is pushing his teammates to compete hard in the final three games of the season so they can get to .500.
Here is a guy who could easily ask to leave to go to a contender, yet he prefers to remain loyal to the franchise that drafted him when he was 19.
Here is a guy who for so many years had to listen to junk about his supposed “softness” and answered it not with complaints but with his play.
Here is a guy whose consistent greatness allowed his front office to eventually build a solid supporting cast around him that resulted in a title victory over a Miami team celebrated for its superstars.
Here is a guy who plays hurt, plays with joy, spends uncommon hours in the gym and demonstrates a work ethic that is a model for young players.
Here is a guy who is a champion.
It the belief of Mark Cuban and the Mavericks that somebody really good will want to play on the same team with this sort of player. They are correct to think that way. We’ll see if they are right.
CHECK OUT JAN HUBBARD’S ARCHIVE FROM SHERIDAN HOOPS.COM. GREAT STUFF ON THE NBA, THEN AND NOW.
Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.
One more thing, Nowitzki at the age of 35 is not going to attract anybody to Dallas. What’s Hubbard smoking between his hero worship. It’s Cuban’s money, his reputation for taking care of players and no state taxes that are the attractions.
Please. It’s not about loyalty, it’s about staying in his comfort zone. This isn’t a Barkley or Malone situation. He already won a title, so what’s the point of this guy, past his prime, trying to hook on with a contender. This was a Hubbard shill column that should cause nausea to any person that dares to read it twice.