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Nowitzki says he plans to extend with Mavs for two or three seasons

Dirk Nowitzki

Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) of Germany spins a ball as poses for a photo during the basketball team’s media day Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

AP

This really was what everyone around the league has expected.

Dirk Nowitzki has said before he planned to stay in Dallas after his contract was up this season, he would come back and take a pay cut to help the team out.

Now Nowitzki said he plans to spend a few more years in Dallas, in an interview Sport1, as transcribed by the amazing Sportando site.

“In the summer I will be free agent and likely extend the contract for two or three years” said Nowitzki. “As long as the body supports me, it is still fun to play basketball. After the new contract I will be 38 or 39 and I will probably stop. For a few years it will work out all right” added the German forward who spoke about his friendship with Mark Cuban. “It is clear that our relationship is amicable. We had so many ups and downs together. The championship was the best part. Mark has always supported me. Even when things were not going well, he has always told me: ‘You are and will remain my franchise player” ended Nowitzki.

“It’s up to him, as long as he wants to he’ll be here,” Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban said recently before his Mavericks took on the Lakers. “Like I said earlier Dirk never played off athleticism; he plays off of heart, he plays off of brains, he plays off of technique. He’s a surgeon, he makes it into a science. He’s a student of the game and in a lot of respects that helps him, you’ll see he knows how to protect his body, which makes him look really awkward at times but he understands context.”

Then he joked about the end of Dirk’s career.

“No, it’s when I want (then he laughs), because owners win games, not players,” Cuban said.

These were Cuban’s earlier comments.

“It’s not like we were wowed by his athleticism or wowed with his speed,” Mark Cuban said recently before his Mavericks took on the Lakers. “Dirk is all about German precision. He’s like a surgeon out on the court, he knows how to play, he sees the game in slow motion and he knows what’s going to happen and he knows what he needs to do. And it’s that ability to know what he needs to do but also context that continues to make him special.”

The only questions left are for how long and how much, but that is going to be worked out.