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When Dirk Nowitzki opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent -- and then told Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson he needn't bother getting on a plane to Germany, because Nowitzki was heading back to the states -- some feared he may be planning to join the free-agent fray by scheduling meetings with other teams, like so many of his counterparts have begun to do this summer. Any concerns along those lines were put to rest on Saturday, with ESPN's Marc Stein reporting that Nowitzki and Mavs' owner Mark Cuban have reached an agreement that will keep the nine-time All-Star in Dallas for the next four seasons.
The deal is reportedly worth at least $80 million, which is far below the maximum amount of over $96 million that Nowitzki was eligible to sign for. But by leaving in the neighborhood of $16 million on the table over the life of the contract, Nowitzki is showing that he's committed to winning, and more than willing to give a little on his end financially so the team can go out and get some additional talent.
One other interesting wrinkle to Dirk's deal is that it will reportedly include a no-trade clause. If it does, Nowitzki will join Kobe Bryant as the only two players in the league to have such a luxury built into their contracts. The reason being, a player has to have been in the league for eight years, four with the same team, and must negotiate the clause into a new contract with that team -- not into a contract extension. Paul Pierce, who similarly opted out of his deal with the Celtics but reached an agreement with them afterward, is also in this situation, so look for his new deal to include a no-trade clause as well.
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