Dirk Nowitzki to Opt Out of Mavericks Contract: Latest Comments, Reaction

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki confirmed Monday that he will opt out of his current deal ahead of the 2016-17 season.

During a radio appearance on BaD on The Ticket, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Nowitzki said he would opt out, but he did say he will remain with the Mavericks.

"We had one more year on the contract, but I think this is the right thing to do," Nowitzki said, via MacMahon. "We're going to sit with Mark and Donnie obviously over the next few weeks and figure out how to improve this franchise again."

Nowitzki added that his decision is "just one move that hopefully starts a chain reaction for us to get better again, to compete really at a high level. We'll see how it goes."

Earlier in the day, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Dwain Price reported Nowitzki would likely become a free agent this summer. Price then floated the possibility of Nowitzki signing a two-year deal with the Mavs, with the option to become a free agent after the first year of the deal.

General manager and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson indicated Dallas wouldn't hesitate to work out a new contract with the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

"There is not a player that I've been around that has his kind of winning software," Nelson said, per Price. "He's our Roger [Staubach], our Troy [Aikman], our Mike Modano, Nolan Ryan. That's who he is, so he deserves the courtesy of the first sit-down."

While the 37-year-old has spent his entire NBA career with the Mavs, he has at least mentioned the idea of joining another team, despite his willingness to remain with the organization.

"I'm not sure where that came from," Nowitzki said on April 26 about rumors of him leaving, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. "I never said I was going to leave this franchise. The only way I would ever leave, is like I said and always have, is when we do rebuilding and start with five rookies. As long as we go for it and compete, then I'll be a Mav."

Before it looked like DeAndre Jordan was going to sign with the Mavericks, team owner Mark Cuban discussed the idea of a full rebuild, per MacMahon:

Although Jordan ruined Dallas' plans and re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, that didn't stop Cuban and Nelson from making moves to keep the Mavs competitive in the short term. They signed Deron Williams after Jordan made it clear he was staying in L.A. NBA insider David Aldridge reported Dallas gave Wesley Matthews even more money than it had originally planned as well.

"It's worth noting here that [Cuban] has said he will never embrace a full-fledged rebuild project as long as Nowitzki is still in uniform," the Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko wrote on March 25.

The Mavericks aren't exactly in dire need of a complete teardown. They finished sixth in the Western Conference and lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the first round of the 2016 NBA playoffs.

While Dallas almost certainly won't be a title favorite for the 2016-17 season, the team should be in position to contend for a postseason spot again, even if it loses one or both of Williams and Chandler Parsons, who can become free agents this offseason.

Taking that into consideration, Nowitzki suiting up for another team next year would be a major surprise.