Retired for less than three years, Dirk Nowitzki spoke in the podcast “The Crossover” on the empowerment of superstars, and in particular on their ability to decide their future to engage now wherever they want, even if it means going to clash as Ben Simmons recently did to force his departure from Philadelphia.
And the “Wunderkid”, who spent his entire NBA career in Dallas, wonders about this new fashion, which already existed towards the end of his career and notably generated the advent of “Superteams”.
A new era
“It’s really new”he estimated. “At the start of my career in 1998, we always felt that we players didn’t have enough power, and the owners had all the power, could make all the moves. And now it’s almost changing, like it’s a bit too much. I think there should be a middle ground. But now, when it comes to players forcing their departures, I don’t think that’s the right solution either.
In recent years, we can notably cite Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook or even James Harden among the superstars who have managed to force a trade.
But the German also explained that he has been loyal to the Mavs in that Mark Cuban’s franchise has almost always presented a competitive team, able to join in the fight for the title, whether at the very beginning of his career at the alongside Steve Nash and Michael Finley or later when Dallas boasted one of the league’s most impressive rosters year after year and didn’t hesitate to pull out the checkbook.
“I was old school”he added. “I don’t want to sit here and judge these guys who do this. I think everyone should know what’s best for themselves, for their career, for their brand, since you know, everyone has a brand now, and what’s best for their family. For me, it was to stay in Dallas. It worked well there. I had my family there and grew up in this community. So that’s something that just worked well for me. But of course, I understand that this is not the case for everyone”.
Titillated by a departure at the end of his career
Forever, the one who now has his statue on the forecourt of the American Airlines Center will remain praised for his loyalty to his heart franchise, an invaluable distinction, especially in today’s NBA. However, he says he was tickled by a departure at the end of his career, when the Mavs began to fall in the hierarchy in the West.
Come to think of it, a second ring of champion would not have displeased him.
“At the end of my career, maybe I could have tried elsewhere to get an extra ring,” he slipped, Dallas having not won a single series of playoffs following the title acquired in 2011. “I think that would have been really the only reason for me to leave. But for me, Dallas was the perfect place. People supported me from the start, even when things weren’t going well for me in my freshman year.”
