Well, the long (and boring) Mavericks Hiatus between Vegas and the start of preseason play is here. With no trades or signings to report, i will tell you guys the current situation with our superstar and one of our rising stars here in Dallas
Mavericks future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki has now officially signed his new contract to play for Dallas. We all know he had agreed to the deal, but it is now official that Dirk's John Hancock is on the contract keeping him in Dallas for a reported 4 years 80 million. Nothing we didn't already know, but hey! now its officially done. No longer a verbal contract.
In other Nowitzki News(LJ, can i get my own podcast segment on this site? Called Nowitzki News? =P ) Dirk has announced that he will not play with Germany in the World Championships in Turkey. While i feel bad for Germany, and believe he's probably not too happy to turn down his team, I'm happy because this means he's fully focused on Dallas this year, as usual. The new team excited Dirk enough to skip a chance to play for his country, and focus on the upcoming training camp. Dirk was quoted by the German Federation when he said,
"I signed a new contract in Dallas, where there are new conditions with a new team and I'd like to concentrate 100 percent this summer on the upcoming NBA season,"
I hope he's true to his word, and is ready for a hopefully long Maverick campaign next year, one that ends in a parade through the city of Dallas! The break from national place will surely give him more energy during the final stretch of next year's regular season and postseason.
________________________________________________________
via ESPN,
In other Mavericks news, rookie Jeremy Lin has began to receive offers from other NBA teams. One team who has officially expressed their desire for him are the LA Lakers, and an unnamed Eastern Conference team. According to Lin's agent there are many more teams that have inquired about Lin.
Whether the many more teams or not are true or just a way to get Dallas to offer Lin more minutes/money, or possibly a roster spot remains to be seen. But it is a possibility Jeremy Lin will take his talents elsewhere. This is a situation i hope Lin steers clear of and returns to the Mavericks. Donnie Nelson's plans were to sign Lin and give him a spot in the Maverick's D league team, the Texas legends. However, if another team offers him minutes on an NBA team we could see this up and coming youngster suit up for another team, a sight none of us want to come true.