Not saying I knew factually as in anybody told me or Dirk said it or stuff like that. No, I just had a gut feeling for a while now that Dirk would opt out.
I tweeted out in March when the Mavs were still trying to make their playoff push that this MIGHT be the last we see of Dirk in a Mavs uniform.
I got a decent amount of people rolling their eyes on me, saying that Dirk had just told the media that he would play next year. But I never said he wouldn't play. I said he MIGHT not play in a Mavs uniform and honestly, it's a valid concern. Look, if you made me put a percentage on it right now, I think there is a 90% chance Dirk is a Maverick next year and 10% he plays elsewhere and about a -10000% chance he retires.
Dirk said he wanted to be a Maverick IF they weren't rebuilding. Well, right now Chandler Parsons coming back is no sure thing. Neither is Deron Williams. Your two centers right now are Salah Mejri and JaVale McGee. The only good thing the Mavs have going for them is Wesley Matthews coming back. That's it. And if Parsons does indeed bolt in free agency, I don't see any way the Mavs attract even a decent free agent. Parsons and Mavs owner Mark Cuban's relationship is well-known and if they can't even keep him with that, it's going to raise some red flags for free agents around the league. In that case, Dirk would be stuck on a roster worse than this years. No, it's not rebuilding but it's pretty damn close. It's definitely closer to rebuilding than a championship roster. Why would Dirk want to endure that?
Dirk's opt out could mean a few things. Maybe he's just accepted the fact the Mavs will be mediocre for the next few years and he's okay with sticking around for that but with the cap jump, he wants his piece of the pie, Kobe Bryant style. If so, that's totally fair.
For years he took a discount and what did that result in? Not Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan, that's for sure. If you're going to retire a Maverick, at least get paid doing it. Maybe he's made up his mind and has decided he doesn't want to just play one more year, which is what was remaining on his previous contract. Maybe he wants to complete 20 NBA seasons so he wants a two-year deal. That's fair as well.
Maybe he wants to step back and see what the roster looks like and then sign a deal at the end of free agency and get all the money that's left on the table. Is so, that's fair as well.
Or maybe, and just maybe, he's had enough of this mediocrity bullshit and is ready to go chase a ring somewhere else. If he bolts, that is totally fair as well. He gave this organization fours to get it together since the 2011 championship and they haven't.
Look, the Mavs are not a championship organization. That is a fact. They are a playoff organization. The San Antonio Spurs, they're a championship organization. That's just the truth. In 2011, mavs caught lightning in a bottle, had great coaching from Rick Carlisle and his assistants, some who are actually currently coaching a playoff team. That's not to take away from that ring, it was still improbable and still really, really awesome. But it's the truth.
So, by opting out, will Dirk leave? I doubt it. Can he leave? Hell yeah he can.
And the same way Dirk opting out makes Mavs fans cringe, so will this next thought: To keep Dirk, they need to get to business and the first order of business is to get Chandler Parsons back at any cost.
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