The Dallas Mavericks fired Nico Harrison on Tuesday, bringing an end to the general manager's time with the Mavs. The franchise and legend Dirk Nowitzki have seemingly been distant ever since Harrison traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dirk — who has a statue outside of the American Airlines Center — attended Doncic's debut in LA with the Lakers last year. Meanwhile, he has not been seen at any recent Mavs games. According to Marc Stein, however, a reunion could be a possibility with Harrison now out of the picture.
“Yet it's likewise true, sources say, that there is already optimism within the Mavericks' ranks that they can swiftly reintegrate Nowitzki in some capacity — formally or informally — to ensure that his voice is once again heard,” Stein wrote on Substack. “(Michael) Finley and (Jason) Kidd are two of Nowitzki's closest former teammates and extremely likely to seek his counsel.”
Kidd clearly has no shortage of respect for Nowitzki. He was recently asked who his favorite teammate he ever played with was, and the Mavs head coach answered with Dirk's name.
At the very least, it would be promising to see Nowitzki at Mavericks games once again. He would always receive plenty of applause from the fans at the AAC whenever he attended games in the past. He's a true franchise legend, and you will still see many Nowitzki jerseys at Mavericks contests.
If Dirk would be open to accepting a role with the team, though, that would be a dream scenario. Having a respected legend return to the organization would not only excite fans, but it would likely re-energize the players and coaching staff. That's the kind of respect Nowitzki holds in Dallas.
