Per MacMahon, Nowitzki will seek a front-office position in a potential reconnection with the Mavericks franchise.
In the latest episode of his Howdy Partners podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed that Dallas Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont approached Dirk Nowitzki to fix his relationship with the franchise.
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki
Position: PF
Age: 47
Height: 213 cm
Weight: 111 kg
Birth place: Wurzburg, Germany
"Patrick Dumont has reached out in an effort to begin repairing that relationship, is what I've been told. And I think that Dirk is open-minded, or at least I've been told that Dirk is open-minded in terms of being a part of the franchise moving forward, potentially. There have not been any kind of specific discussions about that. But I know that there's interest on the Maverick side certainly in Dirk being involved," MacMahon said.
"They obviously recognize how important he is to the fanbase. They value everything about Dirk."
Nowitzki established his case as the greatest Maverick ever. He led the ball club to its first-ever title in 2011 and remained in Dallas for the entirety of his career. Before retiring in 2019, he passed the baton to Luka Doncic to be the next face of the franchise.
In 2021, Nowitzki returned to the Mavericks in a special advisor role. But reports suggest that he felt "out of place" regarding his true responsibility within the organization.
He slowly distanced himself since the front office takeover of Nico Harrison. Nowitzki didn't like how Harrison dismissed Casey Smith, the Mavs' long-time director of health and performance. And last year, the stunning deal that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers served as the final straw for the German great to completely disassociate himself from the Mavericks.
Now that Harrison is officially gone in Dallas, Dumont is steadfast in bringing Nowitzki back. But according to MacMahon, the former franchise superstar at least desires to be involved in the team's decision-making for his return.
"I don't think Dirk is going to be interested in just going and waving to the crowd and kind of being a beauty queen. I think if he's going to be involved, he's actually going to be in a situation where he's giving input," MacMahon said.
"He's not a candidate for the president of basketball operations, let me be real clear. But I do think there is a possibility that Dirk could be in some way, shape, or form part of the front office moving forward."
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