Dallas Mavericks all-time great Dirk Nowitzki does not like the power current NBA players hold to force their way out of cities and franchises they are unhappy with.
Nowitzki will go down as the best player in Mavs history, as well as the greatest foreign-born athlete in NBA history. The German was a trailblazer for the league and European basketball. However, he was not a player that did like many of his contemporaries over the last 20 years and switched teams.
The loyalty to leaving ratio in the NBA leans heavy to one side
In an era where team and city loyalty is at a low, Nowitzki was as devoted to his franchise as any player of the last few decades. He stayed with the Mavs for 21 seasons and never wore the uniform of any other team. That fact is just as much a part of his legacy as his patented fadeaway shot.
In today’s league, players switching sides is a common occurrence. Especially, by way of free agency. However, a growing trend in the league is seeing displeased superstars forcing trades in pursuit of a situation that is more to their liking at that moment.
- Dirk Nowitzki stats (career average): 20.7 PPG, 7.5 REB, 2.4 AST
That happened in a major way before the Feb. NBA trade deadline when both James Harden and Ben Simmons were traded for each other in a swap where two franchises looked to unload players that wanted out. Both men were just the latest installment in this type of player movement.
Dirk Nowitzki is not a fan of players forcing trades like Ben Simmons and James Harden
It is a trend Nowitzki is no fan of. Just like he was no fan of the power owners once held over their players. The 43-year-old would prefer a middle ground compared to what’s been happening recently.
“It’s definitely new. We always felt like we the players didn’t have enough power at the beginning of my career [in 1998], and the owners had all the power, could make all the moves,” Nowitzki said on SI’s Crossover podcast. “And now it’s almost shifting a little bit too much. I think there should be like, a happy medium. But now the players forcing themselves out, to me it’s not the way to go, either.”
The Mavericks return on the NBA games today schedule Friday, at home, to play the Sacramento Kings.