After being in the top eight of the Western Conference for the vast majority of the season, the Dallas Mavericks have finally fallen out. The Mavs have lost 10 of their last 12 games and now sit a half game behind the Houston Rockets for that eighth spot.
It was only a matter of time for this Mavericks team as they have dealt with so many injuries to key players. The season-ending surgery for Chandler Parsons might have been the final nail in the coffin, but they still have nine games to play. The only reason for any sort of optimism this season in Dallas is Dirk Nowitzki, who has played great in his 18th NBA season.
Nowitzki will enter the final year of the three-year, $25 million contract he signed in 2014 next season, but that final year is a player option. We are at a time in the NBA where basically everybody with a player option intends to decline it because the cap is going up and they think they can get paid more. Nowitzki, though, plans to do the opposite, as he wants to opt into the final year of his contract which will pay him about $8.7 million.
When Nowitzki was negotiating that contract with Dallas in 2014, that player option was likely there just in case he felt like retiring. Nowitzki is 37 years old after all and has played a lot of minutes in his career, so it wouldn't be crazy to see him walk away from the game, but he has said he has even thought about playing beyond next season.
At this point Nowitzki is taking things day by day and is just worried about this season, but so far he is committed to playing next season, and playing beyond that isn't out of the question. If Nowitzki wanted to play again in 2017-18 the Mavericks would likely welcome him back because he has played great this season. In 66 games Nowitzki is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three. On top of those numbers Nowitzki's numbers have gotten even better since the All-Star break when he has been forced to carry a much heavier load.
Obviously a lot of this will depend on the German forward's health moving forward and how his body feels, but his play this season suggests he still has a few more good years in him. We are a long way away from Nowitzki having to decide if he wants a new contract or not, but for now it is good to know he likely won't be gone after this year.
