What if Dirk Nowitzki never ended up with the Dallas Mavericks? Well even though they ended up trading for him on draft night in 1998, the Boston Celtics were desperately chasing the German and hoping to get him. Ultimately, he became a legend for the Mavs, but Nowitzki believed before the draft that he could end up with the C's at No 10 overall. Via SI's Chris Mannix:
In Rome, Pitino watched the gangly 19-year old bang in threes like a guard. “I was blown away,” recalls Pitino. At lunch, Pitino told Nowitzki: Skip the draft combine. I’ll take you at No. 10. Nowitzki asked Pitino how he could trust him. Pitino got Red Auerbach, the Celtics’ vice chairman, on the phone, and, according to Pitino, Nowitzki was sold. “I went home,” says Pitino, “thinking we had our guy.”
On draft night, Pitino was relaxed. Michael Olowokandi went No. 1 to the Clippers . . . then Mike Bibby . . . then Raef LaFrentz . . . Antawn Jamison . . . Vince Carter. At six, Dallas took Robert Traylor. Wallace exhaled. He knew the Mavs liked Nowitzki. Dallas assistant general manager Donnie Nelson had a reputation for mining top international prospects. Wallace had Nowitzki in his sights . . . until Milwaukee grabbed him at No. 9, immediately flipping him to Dallas in a swap for Traylor. F—, Pitino mumbled to himself. They got him.
It was really that close. The Celtics were hoping to get the player to shape their future in Nowitzki, but the Bucks nabbed him a pick before then shipped him off to the Mavs. Well, instead, Boston did get Paul Pierce, who also proved to be an absolute superstar. He's also heading to the Hall of Fame this weekend.
The Mavs may have beat the C's to the punch for Dirk Nowitzki, but it's not like Boston didn't get a super talented player anyway. But, it could've been a different story for both organizations.
Crazy.
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