Monday Links - Dirk Snubs Nike

by Wes Cox on Feb 5, 2007 9:36 AM CST in News

Dallas is in the middle of a rare three game break right now so there isn't much in the papers this morning.

I do really like Art Garcia's article today though because it's not the usual fare. It's about Dirk's marketability in America. One of many interesting notes, Dirk was supposed to appear in Nike's "Second Coming" ad campaign.

For the casual fan, the collection of ballers appears pretty complete. The absence of one, though, is glaring for those who know the NBA. And he also happens to wear that swoosh.

Where's Dirk?

"Actually, I was going to be in it, but I was in Germany and I wasn't going to fly 12 hours to be in a commercial," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki explained. "That was my bad. They wanted me in it."

"I really don't care if I'm in the commercial or not, but a lot of people have asked me why I'm not in it, so I guess it's a big deal to other people," Nowitzki said. "It would have been nice to be in it."

I can't imagine another player in the NBA passing on that opportunity. Those ads are all over the place and Dirk said 'no thanks'. Amazing.

It also makes me wonder if one of the players is Dirk's replacement; I doubt Nike wanted an uneven 11 people. cough*rasheedwallace*cough

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Tim MacMahon has an article on the much needed break.

The Mavericks went 14-2 in January, but it was a taxing month. They logged nearly 10,000 miles on the team jet during a month that included stops in Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto.

"January was about as tough a schedule as I've ever seen - a lot flying east and west and a lot of tough games," said Dirk Nowitzki, who has been held under 20 points in two of the last three games. "We're going to use this break. We definitely need a tuneup. The next three days, we're going to work on some stuff. We definitely haven't been sharp."

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Around the NBA: Damon Jones and Gilbert Arenas will reportedly be joining Jason Terry and Dirk in the 3-point shootout.

The Cavs lost to the Pistons and got booed at home.

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A 12 hour flight

that might've given us a shot at being allowed to win a title? Nah, probably not. I doubt one commercial would've swayed Stern. Would've been nice to try though.

"I think Phoenix is fairly obviously the best team in the league right now." -John Hollinger, on January 24th

by thedirkatron on Feb 5, 2007 11:27 AM CST reply actions

Daily Dime

Marc Stein's Daily Dime has a lot of Mavs related stuff. There's also a podcast of Marc Stein going on Galloway's radio show. I can't listen to it at work, so I don't know if they discuss anything good.

Derek

Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!

by DerekSTheRed on Feb 5, 2007 12:08 PM CST reply actions

Saw that yesterday

and meant to link to it.

I thought what Cuban had to say about buyouts was pretty interesting but not sot surprising considering the Finley move.

I'd be curious to see if all owners feel the same way.

by Wes Cox on Feb 5, 2007 12:42 PM CST up reply actions

Buyouts

Buyouts seem to be the trend now, so I would think most owners feel the same way. Very rarely is the best basketball move also the best financial move, but that's the case with buyouts according to Cuban. Why wouldn't an owner sign off on them. "Wait I save money and get rid of a bad player? Really? ... Where do I sign?"

I think you'll see a lot less teams willing to trade for a bad contract, even if it's packaged with something really good. This will force even more buyouts since most GM's are giving out bad contracts like jello shots at the Playboy super bowl party.

Derek

Signature! I don't need no stinking signature!!

by DerekSTheRed on Feb 5, 2007 1:45 PM CST up reply actions

Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed does kind of look like the odd man out in that group, but on the other hand, he's the only guy in the NBA that I know of who actually wears Air Force 1's in games -- that probably earned him a pass to be part of the original group.

Tony Parker seems like the odd-man-out to me, or maybe Shawn Marion, just because there are three Suns. That's interesting, though...

A guy from Detroit

by Matt Watson on Feb 5, 2007 1:25 PM CST reply actions

parker is odd man out to me

then sheed

by dignan @ Mavs Moneyball on Feb 5, 2007 9:17 PM CST up reply actions

Odd man out

My odd man out choice would have to be Paul Pierce. Besides, it's not a big deal Dirk's not in this ad...I happen to like one of the older Nike ads better (not sure if it's last year's) since it had more players, and Dirk was already part of the Nike campaign in Europe, though it was for these garments and not shoes.

by Marie on Feb 5, 2007 5:12 PM CST reply actions