Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki Should Consider Asking For Trade

Dirk Nowitzki should be disappointed about Mark Cuban‘s decisions in the last couple seasons. The sharpshooter won a title when paired with Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler, but the Dallas Mavericks haven’t even been close to the championship round since 2011.

Cuban’s poor choices probably started when he passed on signing Steve Nash to a lengthy deal. Can you imagine how prolific Nash and Nowitzki would’ve been together? That would’ve netted the Mavericks at least two titles.

Dirk should consider asking for a trade, because the Mavericks haven’t made any moves in the draft or free agency to place themselves in contention. Almost signing DeAndre Jordan last summer was the closest Cuban and company have come to inking a marquee star, but that transaction obviously went badly after Jordan had a change of heart.

Dirk has said that he plans to pick up his player option this summer, and that would be a mistake. Nowitzki could be a force at this time in his career on a team like the Miami Heat or Los Angeles Clippers, and he must at least sometimes think about what life would be like outside of Dallas.

Rick Carlisle is a great head coach, and so it makes sense that Nowitzki has stayed from that perspective. But at a certain point your team needs talent to be a contender, and Dirk is too old now to carry a team on his own. The Mavericks aren’t likely to make the playoffs this year due to injury issues, and that has to be concerning for Nowitzki.

His career is entering its twilight, and he would be better served by being on a squad with a real chance of playing late into the postseason. Nowitzki deserves that after all of his efforts, and hopefully he’ll give some thought to trying out a new city for the first time in his NBA career.