[Underdog]

As if there was any doubt...

Nowitzki: No plans to leave Dallas

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki reiterated Saturday that he's not leaving Dallas and trusts that owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson will do what they can this summer to improve the team.

Nowitzki, fresh off vacation, also admitted that he's having trouble getting past the team's first-round exit from the playoffs. The Mavericks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games. The Spurs are in the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That series is slated to start Monday.

"Game 7 was tough," said Nowitzki, who was at Globe Life Park in Arlington as part of a ceremony honoring former Texas Rangers infielder Michael Young. "We had a shot to beat the No. 1 seed, so the whole series goes through your head, even on vacation."

Nowitzki, 35, said he hasn't worked out a new deal with the Mavericks yet, but believes that will come once the offseason fully arrives. He's a free agent and has said in the past that he would sign a two- or three-year deal at a reduced salary.

"Like I always said, it wouldn't even feel right if I played somewhere else," Nowitzki said. "We'll get together at some point and talk about the future and see what we've got going. It hasn't gotten to that point yet."

Nowitzki said he isn't satisfied with how the season ended for the Mavericks.

"It was nice to make the playoffs, but that's not up to our standards, especially after we won it couple of years ago. We're looking to make the team better and act accordingly."

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/...llas-mavericks