Dirk Nowitzki took a massive paycut on the deal he signed with the Dallas Mavericks this summer. Despite the 36 year-old holding max-level offers from the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and undoubtedly many more, Dirk signed on Mark Cuban’s dotted line for a paltry $25 million over three seasons so Dallas could ink Chandler Parsons to a contract carrying a $15 million salary while maintaining future financial flexibility. Talk about team first.
But just because Nowitzki was selfless enough to take a discount doesn’t mean he can’t playfully gloat about doing so. Now that Parsons has replaced him as the Mavs’ highest-paid player, Dirk is making sure his team’s key free agent signee remembers from where all of that cash came:
https://twitter.com/KirkSeriousFace/status/527107056638386177
Fun.
Parsons actually signed his new deal with Dallas before Nowitzki did his, but Cuban, GM Donnie Nelson, and company obviously knew of their legend’s impending pay decrease before drawing up Parsons’ three-year, $46 million contract. According to Forbes, Dirk sacrificed more money than any player in league history by electing to forgo a maximum deal for one worth pennies on the dollar.
The result didn’t only allow the Mavs to bring in Parsons and easily skirt the luxury tax this season, but also affords them major wiggle room going forward. Dallas will have at least $20 million in cap space next summer, and potentially more if the league opts to smooth the coming cap spike gleaned from the massive new television deal over multiple seasons. A majority of that flexibility could be used to re-sign Monta Ellis and Tyson Chandler, or the Mavs could go another route entirely and chase a legitimate superstar. Dirk’s hometown discount gives Dallas options it would otherwise sorely lack.
Nowitzki also benefits from his approach, of course. He wants to win more than anything at this stage of his career, and has already made over $200 million playing basketball. He could have taken the Kobe Bryant route and ensured maximum earning potential, but instead chose to value on-court success over further financial security. Dirk deserves credit for that, obviously, but doing so is not completely unselfish – he’d just rather contend for championships than fight to keep his team from the Western Conference cellar.
And then there’s the bonus of all those fancy dinners on Parsons, too, even if Nowitzki’s sacrifice is what allows his new running mate to pick up the check.
What do you think?
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