NBA free agency is a time for contenders to try and reload. That's how the Dallas Mavericks view it as they have their sights set on LaMarcus Aldridge with Dirk Nowitzki leading the recruiting charge.
"We'd love to have him," Nowitzki said Tuesday via ESPN. "He's a great midrange shooter. He plays bigger than he is on the defensive end. He's a good rebounder on both ends of the floor and on that left blocks, he's a beast. So I mean, he's a really, really good player."
The only problem with this match made in heaven is that Aldridge and Nowitzki share the same position of power forward. But something as small as positional overlap isn't going to stop Nowitzki from trying to add top tier talent to this team, which is why he offered to come off the bench if Aldridge agreed to sign with the Mavericks. That's a pretty bold statement.
But fortune favors the bold and the Mavericks will need some good luck to pry Aldridge away from the Portland Trail Blazers and the rival suitor San Antonio Spurs. Nowitzki, a 17-year veteran and the seventh-leading scorer in NBA history, told media members in his exit interview last month that he would be willing to accept a lesser role if it put the Mavericks in a better position to contend. He hasn't backed off that stance as the Mavs prepare to make a run at Aldridge and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
"We want to get better. That's no question," Nowitzki said. "We want to go further in the playoffs. We've been ousted twice in the first round and the last two years and whatever I got to do, I'm ready to help. I know that, at 37, I can't be the No. 1 option if we want to play for the championship. That's just normal. That's how the cycle goes."
