Rick Carlisle Comments on Dirk Nowitzki's Future with Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki leaving the Dallas Mavericks would be a long shot, especially since he said he intends to pick up his player option in his contract for 2016-17, but that won't stop head coach Rick Carlisle from doing everything he can to make sure the face of the franchise doesn't depart.

"We've got to hope that this isn't Dirk's last game as a Maverick," Carlisle said after Monday's 118-104 season-ending Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, per James Herbert of CBS Sports. "I'm ready to get on a plane and go to Germany and recruit him to be back. But I don't think we can take that for granted. We got to give him that kind of respect."

The Mavericks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years since winning the 2011 NBA Finals.

Carlisle, who has been the Mavericks head coach since the 2008-09 season, called coaching Nowitzki a "life-changing" experience, per Herbert.

"I think he will be back, but I don't want anybody to just assume anything," Carlisle said.

Nowitzki said he plans to finish out his contract in Dallas as long as owner Mark Cuban and general manager Donnie Nelson continue to stay competitive, per Bobby Karalla of Mavs.com:

This turned out to be a decent season for the Mavericks, who finished with a 42-40 record and locked up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Dallas made the playoffs despite the DeAndre Jordan free-agency controversy and injuries to the likes of Chandler Parsons (knee) and Deron Williams (abdominal).

Nowitzki, who turns 38 on June 19, averaged 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds on 44.8 percent shooting (36.8 percent from three) in his 18th NBA season. He also started 75 regular-season games and averaged 31.5 minutes per contest.

Newcomer Wesley Matthews also started 78 games after rupturing his Achilles in March 2015.

If the Mavericks stay healthy, there's reason to believe they can be competitive again next year, though they will likely need to land a top free agent to go with the core of Nowitzki, Parsons and Matthews in the offseason.

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