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Monday Links - Dirk Snubs Nike

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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.