UMMM......WHAT IS THIS?

[craggmac]

I'm not a subscriber to ESPN Rumor Central so I don't know exactly what this says but this most definately got my attention. Someone clear this all up and let me know that everything is ok.

Link: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/featu...tures%2frumors

[Rick41]

Oh god i just sh!t myself.

[craggmac]

Not to mention this:

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archi...to-europe.html

We're doomed.

[Tokey41]

He wants a ring, if there is any truth to those rumors then we will NEVER get one with Nowitzki in Dallas. If you star doesn't truly believe it's possible then it's just not going to happen.

[chumdawg]

Think about it. If you were an all-world player, wouldn't you be running from Cuban with your track shoes on?

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Think about it. If you were an all-world player, wouldn't you be running from Cuban with your track shoes on?

Tsk tsk. You're supposed to have forgiven Cuban his sins due to the Kidd trade.

[craggmac]

Honestly, I've been wondering when Dirk was going to finally step out into the light and be like,"Helllloooo, my career is wasting away here and all we're going to do is sign spares every single offseason."

[Rick41]

....

[Usually Lurkin]

It's a headline.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by jthig32

Tsk tsk. You're supposed to have forgiven Cuban his sins due to the Kidd trade.

Evidently my forgiveness has an expiration date.

I'll just say that for our sake it's a good thing that there is a maximum player contract and Dirk is clearly worth that, no matter what other concerns the team has. I'd hate to have Dirk worrying about getting the Nash treatment.

[Usually Lurkin]

It's a headline!
At rumor central.
And it's probably referring to this
http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33892



But if you need an irrationally nutball blow up and jump off a building thread, I guess this one does fine.

[Caseman]

Don't worry Dirk, we have faith in Josh Howard!!

[Thespiralgoeson]

He's entering the latter stage of his career, and the years he's spent with this club haven't paid off the way he had hoped. He's been jerked around by his coaches and the front office. Why the hell wouldn't he be looking forward to a chance to play the market?

[quietsavant]

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

The blunt question made Dirk Nowitzki uncomfortable. But it didn't necessarily catch him by surprise, like he knew it was coming sooner or later:

If Avery Johnson was still coaching the Dallas Mavericks, would Nowitzki still be on the team?

It was more than just a rumor last season that Nowitzki had grown tired of Johnson's system and coaching style. But was it really as bad as the whispers made it sound?

"I had a good time with Avery," Nowitzki said Thursday. "But sometimes I wish we had communicated a little more. We all know Avery ran a little dictatorship here. I think this league is still a league of players, not a coaches league."

To the players, that's what Johnson forgot. And that's what rubbed players the wrong way in the end. Nowitzki, sporting a fresh buzz cut with no trace of the Olympic rings he shaved into his hair before the Beijing Games, is back in Dallas for training camp, which begins with physical exams over the weekend, media day Monday and the first set of practices Tuesday.

Nowitzki touched on a variety of topics, including his contract situation and, of course, the coaching change.

Johnson's regimented style, along with his lack of offensive creativity, were two of the things that wore down Nowitzki and his teammates.
Dirk Nowitzki said he wished he and former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson communicated more.


"You know me, I'm not always on the edge," Nowitzki said about whether he and Johnson could have lasted another season together. "I usually keep stuff on the inside.

"It was a tough year for me, I've got to admit. I had a lot of bad games in November and December. And after that, I got to playing better, and Jason [Kidd] really helped my game after the All-Star Game. But it was an up-and-down year, and up-and-down years are never fun. I had to play hurt for us to get to the playoffs, and that obviously is not what we play for."

And as for the Mavericks' offense that slowed to a crawl, particularly in the playoffs, Nowitzki said:

"Avery had a really strong will of what should go on out there, and he controlled the game a lot. I don't think there was enough movement going on. People were just sitting on our stuff, especially in the playoffs. We just couldn't score enough.

"I don't think we got enough easy stuff, either on the break or on cuts. Everything was post-ups or contested shots. It wasn't easy. I don't want to use this year to bash Avery. He took us to the Finals and did a phenomenal job. He came in and brought fire and enthusiasm."

Nowitzki said he is excited about the Mavericks' prospects this season under Rick Carlisle. He already has been impressed with Carlisle's communication skills and his commitment to a more uptempo offense.

Nowitzki also said that he's eager for something else: being a free agent. He can opt out of his contract after 2009-10 or play it out through 2010-11. He said he has no intention of signing an extension next summer when he is eligible to do so.

"I kind of want to see what's going to happen," said Nowitzki, 30. "I don't want to commit until I'm 35 or 36 and then [find out] I don't want to play that long. But saying that now, everything is kind of out in the open. We'll see how we play this year and hopefully bring some of the fun back.

"Once I play these next three years, then maybe I've lost a step and I'm not quick enough anymore to play with these guys because there are so many athletes here."

Nowitzki added that another factor regarding his long-term future is weighing on him: He doesn't want to play when he no longer is effective.

"I'd love to finish my career here in Dallas," he said. "Hopefully, we can win the championship here in the next three years and it'll be great. And if not, we all have to keep our eyes and ears open to what's going on.

"I figure I have three more years now. If we get a championship and I really don't want to play anymore, maybe I'm done. I think the worst thing that athletes can do is play too long and at the end, look slow and don't look right and they lose some of their reputation. I don't want to do that. I want to still play when it's fun."

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

or, you know, you could go HERE
http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33892
where people at a very good mavs board are already discussing this. Really. If you don't want to post in that thread, then you don't want to post on this board.

aaargh~!!!!!!
come on mods, time to get into game shape! the season is almost here.

[chumdawg]

Sounds like Dirk is lamenting Nellie being run out of town.

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

or, you know, you could go HERE
http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33892
where people at a very good mavs board are already discussing this. Really. If you don't want to post in that thread, then you don't want to post on this board.

aaargh~!!!!!!
come on mods, time to get into game shape! the season is almost here.

Maybe they're just about to have training camp as well!!

[LonghornDub]

ESPN sells Insiders subscription off those little one-liners. They are taking significant journalistic liberties in translating the article above to "Nowitzki eager to be a free agent."

*edit for a typographical error that destroyed the meaning of my sentence *

[craggmac]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

or, you know, you could go HERE
http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33892
where people at a very good mavs board are already discussing this. Really. If you don't want to post in that thread, then you don't want to post on this board.

aaargh~!!!!!!
come on mods, time to get into game shape! the season is almost here.

Dude.... chill out. It was just a question. I don't have access to Rumor Central so I was trying to get the scoop.

[mac222b]

THIS! Is the best thing that could possibly happen for this team, owner, management. We need a sense of urgency. Losing in the 1st rd. year after year is not good enough.
But I'm afraid the plan is to wait for 2010. That's 2 full seasons, the prime of Dirk's prime, waiting for 1 or 2 superstar free agents who can presumably put us over the top. If we can sign them. Whether we luck out and somehow sign the player(s) who can maybe get us over the top or blow it up and start over;either way it's , in essence, "rebuilding" time. And I don't blame Dirk a bit for adopting a wait and see stance.

[ty]

What's the fuss? He deserves better.

[mac222b]

And for me it's not so much about journalistic integrity if it has the desired effect.
The source was the Dallas Morning News. So you can bet Donnie and Cubes have read it. And the message was polite, because it's Dirk, but clear. He's not signing an extension. He feels like he has a 3 year window. If improvements aren't made we risk losing the best player in franchise history.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by craggmac

Dude.... chill out. It was just a question. I don't have access to Rumor Central so I was trying to get the scoop.

dude . . . I understand, and asking the question is legitimate, especially since this topic isn't the first thing in that other thread. So it's understandable that you didn't realize that your topic is already being discussed. People could have directed you to the other thread in order to answer your question, but all the reactions were not reactions to your question, they were reactions to a rumor-mill headline. And now we have a reposting of the entire article. If you really want to know the substance behind the headline, and what people think of it, you could check out the other thread. If you just wanted projections onto an informational vacuum, then your question wasn't your point.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

There really isn't anything new on this that hasn't been discussed already.

Dirk still said he would love to retire a Maverick so why jump off a cliff? If he retires early then he retires early, what can you do?

[dangirwin]

I just think Dirk is too nice to come out and say "Why the F did we not make any major changes after that turd we dropped in the first round last year?"

Nellie lied, Cuban is practicing being a Cub, and all we have to show for it is more Jet, Josh, and Jason.

When did winning it all cease to be the main goal of this franchise?

d

[Murphy3]

I think he's stating the obvious.. the Mavs need to stop screwing up. AJ was consistently beaten by opposing coaches. If you put him head to head against opposing head coaches the past two years, I'd probably say that he was probably at least 100 games below .500. Fortunately, the game isn't solely won or lost by the head coach.. It's usually done by the players on the court (unless you have a head coach that decides to go into an offensive stall in game 3 of the NBA Finals giving the Heat a chance to get back into the series).

AJ was a screw up. He was a jackass. He never admitted that he made a mistake. His ego was simply too big. He was a poor in game coach.

[Usually Lurkin]

JHo Hater: he's talking about Josh Howard. He means if JHo is still on the team, he's gone.

JET Hater: he's talking about JET. He means if JET is still on the team, he's gone.

Dampier Lover: My cat's breath smells like catfood.

Poster Hater: he means stupid internet trolls. If he keeps reading useless posts at D-M.com, he's outa here for a more intelligent fan-base.

Foot Doctor: He's talking about his ankles. He's gonna use free agency for a big cashout cause his ankles won't hold up.

Handball Fan: He's looking forward to entering the only true sport there is.

Politically Ambivalent: He is worried about the state of the Union, and doesn't want to commit to this country too far into the term of the next president (whoever that may be).

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I think he's stating the obvious.. the Mavs need to stop screwing up. AJ was consistently beaten by opposing coaches. If you put him head to head against opposing head coaches the past two years, I'd probably say that he was probably at least 100 games below .500. Fortunately, the game isn't solely won or lost by the head coach.. It's usually done by the players on the court (unless you have a head coach that decides to go into an offensive stall in game 3 of the NBA Finals giving the Heat a chance to get back into the series).

AJ was a screw up. He was a jackass. He never admitted that he made a mistake. His ego was simply too big. He was a poor in game coach.

Avery took blame upon himself plenty of times!! I totally agree that he failed to make "in game" strategy changes effectively and was poor at communicating with the players. Many folks are correct about him, I think when he stopped taking some blame he started losing the players because they knew he wasn't utilizing the personell most efficiently. Seems it became more and more the players fault, the closer to absolute failure the team got!

[Evilmav2]

Arrrrghhh... And so the countdown begins...

Letting Dirk walk out of Dallas without compensation, the way the braintrust did with Nash in the Summer of '05, cannot be an option in 2010, because to do so would not only throw us immediately into complete rebuilding mode, but perversely, it would also set back that rebuilding effort by years.

If Dirk is going to play chicken with the organization by not signing an extension that will facilitate his retirement as a Mav, I'd say that the on-court success of our Mavs must improve in the '08-09 season and in the playoffs to the point that Dirk can be convinced to sign an extension in Dallas without testing unrestricted free agency, or else the exigencies of this cruel situation may well force a sad but resigned braintrust to deal Dirk for younger talent next Summer, or at the latest, by the trade deadline of the '09-10 season- and horribly, Dirk may even want this to happen.

I don't want this to be true, but I think it is...

[quietsavant]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

or, you know, you could go HERE
http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33892
where people at a very good mavs board are already discussing this. Really. If you don't want to post in that thread, then you don't want to post on this board.

aaargh~!!!!!!
come on mods, time to get into game shape! the season is almost here.

Charlie Chaplin entered a charlie chaplin look alike contest in Monte carlo and came in third..

[Sportstudi]

Well, let's see... Probably the next two years will be the deceisive ones. Either he will stay here until 2011 or he will opt out in 2010 if he hasn't won a title then. Well, I really hope that he will continue to play in the NBA after 2011. Maybe he says in 2011 that he has still two more years in the tank and he will go back to Europe in 2013 then (in the age of 35). Because he did not say that he will definitively leave the NBA in 2011. It all will depend on his ability to compete with the best and the fun-factor. If he is still athletic enough to compete and if he has still the mood to play, he will stay. Well, at least in the NBA. That does not mean definitively Dallas, because his major goal is a ring. And if he does not get it here, he will try it elsewhere until he cannot contribute the level anymore which he is used to.

I really hope that he will decide to stay until he is 35 because it is always a joy to see him competing in the NBA (and of course with Dallas).

[SMC0007]

Ehh, trade him while his stocks are up as in, If were not in the hunt by trade deadline. If we are and don't come close to winning it all, one and done 1st rnd exit, deal him! I don't want to hear that anyone even Dirk may want out of Dallas or is eager for free agency.

[Just211]

am I reading it wrong?, because I don't get the same impression as the rest of you. It seems like all his talking about is retiring, not leaving for another team. You can't really stop him from retiring. Especially when he says if he wins a ring, or thinks he has lost a step. IMO it just sounds like he doesn't want to overcommit, and wind up being an overpayed spare just taking money. Sounds like its more about him being happy playing basketball, and he's not going to let it become no fun, and he's willing to walk away from it all if it does.

[MaVs 41 BaLler]

Wherever dirk goes i follow.
THE END.

(???) 41 BaLleR

[DirkFTW]

If Dirk goes - the Mavs die!

[Evilmav2]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

If Dirk goes - the Mavs die!

Come the Summer of 2010 (or maybe 2011), you can't control what the free agent do...