Rumors

You just saw No. 41 at the Mark Aguirre Jersey Retirement ceremony earlier this week and, to my knowledge, he and Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont have had an open dialogue since the spring ... months before Harrison's firing. The Mavericks badly want Nowitzki to return to the organization and have conveyed to him that he can do so in any role he chooses, but the 47-year-old has focused this season on his new job as a studio analyst for Amazon as well as his various duties and travel obligations as a FIBA board member and global ambassador for the sport's international governing body.

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The Mavericks badly want Nowitzki to return to the organization and have conveyed to him that he can do so in any role he chooses, but the 47-year-old has focused this season on his new job as a studio analyst for Amazon as well as his various duties and travel obligations as a FIBA board member and global ambassador for the sport's international governing body.

marcstein.substack.com

Q. What's the secret to dominating on the post? Shaquille O’Neal: I think it's my fault that the game is being played the way it's played now, because when I was dominating the post, they tried to bring in centers to bring me out from the post. ‘Okay, he's good offensively. Now, let's make him play defense and let’s pick and pop.’ And then we're all products of our generation. So, I grew up watching guys that dominated the post. But you look at Nikola Jokic, he watched Dirk Nowitzki and Dirk watched Kevin Garnett and they all watched Tim Duncan; a 6-11, 7-foot player that could pop out and shoot the jumper. So it's my fault that guys are playing soft, that’s what I call it. The key to dominating the post is just making your opponent quit, bringing the force like I used to, try to elbow you in your face on purpose to see if you can handle it. So now that I know I got you going like that I got the advantage.

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Brad Townsend: Mavs say scheduled attendees for Mark Aguirre’s Thursday night jersey retirement include fellow jersey retirees Dirk Nowitzki, Ro Blackman and Derek Harper, along with Pistons great and lifelong Aguirre friend Isiah Thomas.

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NBA on Prime: Dirk Nowitzki on Cooper Flagg: “My rookie season, I shot 29% from three and it ended up being okay. We’re not worried about Cooper’s three ball.”

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Finally, regarding your future: A few months ago, Nico Harrison was dismissed as General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks. Your name keeps coming up in the media as a possible successor. Is that something you currently consider? Dirk Nowitzki: I don't think the GM role is something I'm considering right now. I always thought that when I retired, I'd immediately move into management with the Mavericks. However, the longer I was out of the business after my playing career ended, the less interesting it became to me. I think it's an incredibly intense job, 24/7, all year round. When the season is over for players and coaches and they take a break, the work for GMs just keeps going with the draft, free agency, and trade deadlines. It's an absolute full-time job that I couldn't imagine doing right now. I like my life the way it is right now. I enjoy having things going on with my roles at Prime and the FIBA Players' Committee, but I also still have plenty of time for my family and children. That's why I don't see a GM role in my immediate future.

Sports Illustrated

NBA: "One of the purest, smoothest scorers the game has ever seen." Dirk Nowitzki congratulates Kevin Durant on passing him to move to 6th on the all-time scoring list 👏 (via @HoustonRockets)

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The NBA is currently planning a separate league in Europe. What do you think about that? Dirk Nowitzki: I'm curious about that too. We don't even have any locations yet, and it's supposed to start in a year and a half. Seriously, respect, that's a tough timeframe. The European model with promotion and relegation is interesting; it's very, very important, as it's part of what our European sports culture is based on. It makes the league more exciting. In the NBA, if you have a bad first half of the season, you basically have nothing left to play for in the last 40 games. That makes it a bit hard to watch. With the European model, there's something at stake right up to the end, for example, in the relegation battle. But I'm also curious to see how it's going to work; the EuroLeague is still around, and that's a good competition.

Sports Illustrated

Kevin Durant: To have a quick little celebration with people that watched me from the beginning, people that followed my career once I got into the NBA—just to celebrate with them a little bit—is pretty cool. To be up there with Dirk, like I said earlier, somebody I looked up to, idolized, competed against... we had some great battles. He always was supportive of my career and my game. So, to be up there with a legend like that—it’s just insane. And to be right underneath Michael Jordan—it's crazy, man. I always dreamt about being in the league and being a superstar-level player and all of this, but you never know exactly how your career is going to go.

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NBA on ESPN: The moment Kevin Durant passed Dirk Nowitzki for 6th all-time in scoring The Easy Money Sniper has his eyes set on Michael Jordan at 5th

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Will Guillory: Kevin Durant on passing Dirk Nowitzki and moving into 6th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list:

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Nick DePaula: Kevin Durant passed Dirk Nowitzki on the all-time scoring list in the “International Blue” KD 18s

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Tim McMahon: Patrick Dumont has has has reached out in an effort to begin repairing that relationship is is what I've been told. Um, and I think that Dirk is open-minded, or at least I've been told that Dirk is open-minded in terms of being a part of the franchise moving forward potentially. There have not been any kind of specific discussions about that. I know that there's there's interest on the Mavericks’ side certainly in Dirk being involved." "They obviously recognize how important he is to the fan base. I don't think Dirk is going to be interested in just going and waving to the crowd and kind of being a beauty queen. I think if he's going to be involved, he's going—you know, he's actually going to be in a—"

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Jorge Sierra: Kevin Durant passed Wilt Chamberlain in scoring last night for No. 7 in NBA history. He's probably moving ahead of Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki before the season is over. Also: Devin Booker moved ahead of Kevin McHale for No. 97 all-time.

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