Dirk Nowitzki has come off the bench 31 times in 20 NBA seasons.
The future Hall of Famer could more than double that number this season.
The 40-year-old Nowitzki is accepting of a reserve role, and saw it coming when the team signed free-agent centre DeAndre Jordan in the offseason.
“When we signed DeAndre, it was pretty much clear in my head that I’m coming off the bench,” Nowitzki said at the Mavericks’ media day on Friday. “It’s all about winning, at the end of the day. Whatever puts us in the best position to win is what we’re going to roll with, and coach (Rick) Carlisle has obviously shown over his time here that he’s willing to try anything. If that’s the case, and I’m coming off the bench, we better keep (an exercise) bike ready and keep a couple of massage therapists in the back, and I’ll be ready to go.”
Nowitzki, who ranks sixth in NBA history with 31,187 points, averaged 12.0 points last season in 77 games. The average was the second lowest of his career with only his rookie campaign (8.2) being lower. He also is recovering from ankle surgery and hopes to be ready to play at some point during the preseason. Carlisle said he plans to play rookie Luka Doncic as the starting power forward next to Jordan. The other projected starters are small forward Harrison Barnes, shooting guard Wesley Matthews and point guard Dennis Smith Jr.
“It’s pretty obvious at this point – and Dirk knows this, and we’ve talked about it - that we have to move the franchise forward the right way,” Carlisle said. “Dennis and Matthews and Harrison and Luka and DeAndre right now look to me like the best team to start games. We need Wes out there to guard the best wing player, the best perimeter player. We need DeAndre out there to be our centre. And I think the other pieces fall into place.”
The Mavericks were just 24-58 last season – representing their most losses since a 20-62 record in 1997-98 – so trying something different seems to be a prudent approach, particularly with Nowitzki no longer one of the NBA’s biggest stars.
“Look, for 20 years, he’s been a starter,” Carlisle said of Nowitzki. “We’re going to have to really work on the best way to get him prepared to go into the game if this is going to be the way that we go. There will be constant dialogue. We’re going to have a lot of communication about it.”
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