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Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki told ESPN's Tim MacMahon on Tuesday that the team would welcome Aldridge, who will be an unrestricted free agent as of July 1.
"We'd love to have him," Nowitzki told MacMahon at a Mavericks youth camp on the campus of the Episcopal School of Dallas. "He's a great midrange shooter. He plays bigger than he is on the defensive end. He's a good rebounder on both ends of the floor and on that left block, he's a beast. So I mean, he's a really, really good player."
The rumors of Aldridge considering a return to his home state of Texas have been swirling for months, with both the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs considered to his biggest suitors outside of the Trail Blazers. Dallas will have in the range of $38 million in cap space under the luxury tax and will certainly make a run at Aldridge. The concern before was mostly about Aldridge's fit with the rest of the roster and specifically Nowitzki, the face of the franchise.
Like Aldridge, Nowitzki is a power forward best paired with a rim protecting center on the frontline and most effective when given plenty of space to operate in the mid-range. Pairing two similar players together seems like, at best, an awkward proposition. But on Tuesday Nowitzki, 37, suggested he'd be willing to take a back seat to land a top tier forward like Aldridge.
"We want to get better. That's no question," Nowitzki told ESPN. "We want to go further in the playoffs. We've been ousted twice in the first round the last two years and whatever I got to do, I'm ready to help. I know that, at 37, I can't be the No. 1 option if we want to play for the championship. That's just normal. That's how the cycle goes."
Saying you're okay with relinquishing your position as the top option on a team and actually doing so are quite different. But during his exit interview Nowitzki even said he would consider coming off the bench if it helped the Mavericks get deep into the postseason.
"Yeah, I mean, the problem is there would some stiffness coming off the bench. I'm usually not the most mobile, agile player, but there are bikes and stuff in the back that you can ride and get loose," Nowitzki told Dallas media members during his exit interview in May. "Yeah, I mean, whatever it takes; I've always said that. My last two years I want to enjoy. I want to be a good team. I want to be on a winning team. Playoffs. Hopefully deep runs. So, yeah, anything I've got to do to help is obviously no question."
Nowitzki has two years remaining a three-year, reported $30 million dollar contract he signed last July. Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris are the only current Mavericks with guaranteed contracts for next season.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...itzki_wed_love_to_have_lamarcus_aldridge.html
"We'd love to have him," Nowitzki told MacMahon at a Mavericks youth camp on the campus of the Episcopal School of Dallas. "He's a great midrange shooter. He plays bigger than he is on the defensive end. He's a good rebounder on both ends of the floor and on that left block, he's a beast. So I mean, he's a really, really good player."
The rumors of Aldridge considering a return to his home state of Texas have been swirling for months, with both the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs considered to his biggest suitors outside of the Trail Blazers. Dallas will have in the range of $38 million in cap space under the luxury tax and will certainly make a run at Aldridge. The concern before was mostly about Aldridge's fit with the rest of the roster and specifically Nowitzki, the face of the franchise.
Like Aldridge, Nowitzki is a power forward best paired with a rim protecting center on the frontline and most effective when given plenty of space to operate in the mid-range. Pairing two similar players together seems like, at best, an awkward proposition. But on Tuesday Nowitzki, 37, suggested he'd be willing to take a back seat to land a top tier forward like Aldridge.
"We want to get better. That's no question," Nowitzki told ESPN. "We want to go further in the playoffs. We've been ousted twice in the first round the last two years and whatever I got to do, I'm ready to help. I know that, at 37, I can't be the No. 1 option if we want to play for the championship. That's just normal. That's how the cycle goes."
Saying you're okay with relinquishing your position as the top option on a team and actually doing so are quite different. But during his exit interview Nowitzki even said he would consider coming off the bench if it helped the Mavericks get deep into the postseason.
"Yeah, I mean, the problem is there would some stiffness coming off the bench. I'm usually not the most mobile, agile player, but there are bikes and stuff in the back that you can ride and get loose," Nowitzki told Dallas media members during his exit interview in May. "Yeah, I mean, whatever it takes; I've always said that. My last two years I want to enjoy. I want to be a good team. I want to be on a winning team. Playoffs. Hopefully deep runs. So, yeah, anything I've got to do to help is obviously no question."
Nowitzki has two years remaining a three-year, reported $30 million dollar contract he signed last July. Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris are the only current Mavericks with guaranteed contracts for next season.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...itzki_wed_love_to_have_lamarcus_aldridge.html
