NBA Free Agency: Report: Dirk Nowitzki Meeting with Dallas Mavericks Later Today

NBA free agency is in full swing, and rumors are flying like crazy. LeBron James is meeting with just about every team under the sun, as are Chris Bosh and close friend Dwyane Wade.

A report surfaced a few minutes ago that LeBron liked the offer he received from the New Jersey Nets but wasn't crazy about the offer from the New York Knicks.

As for Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, it's unknown where either player stands. Also, the Boston Celtics locked up forward Paul Pierce earlier this morning with a four-year, $61 million deal.

Another free agent who's also still out there is Dallas Mavericks' forward Dirk Nowitzki. It was well known that team president Don Nelson was going to board a plane and fly to Germany to meet with Nowitzki and come back with a verbal agreement on a new deal that would keep Dirk in Dallas.

However, news broke yesterday that Dirk told Nelson he would fly back to Dallas instead, which was an indication that he wanted to get a deal done as well.

But, Dirk apparently made a detour in New York, and people wondered if he had changed his plans and set up a meeting with either the Knicks or Nets.

It was later discovered that Dirk had stopped in New York to have dinner with teammate Jason Kidd, yet another sign that Dirk is not ready to leave the Mavericks. Or maybe it was a dinner to say a goodbye?

On Friday Nelson is scheduled to meet with Dirk to hammer out what was reported to be a deal in the neighborhood of $96 million.

Newy Scruggs, currently on the air with 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas, doesn't like the fact that the Mavericks' fans have to show Dirk just how much they want him back. Scruggs is under the impression that it's not up to the fans to show Dirk that he's wanted back in the blue and white.

While I would tend to agree with Mr. Scruggs on his point, I will go a step further and ask this question: Are the Mavericks any worse off without Dirk than with him?

I know there are a lot of true Mavericks' fans who know what Nowitzki brings to the table, but there are others who I hear on the radio waves all the time talking about how they would rather trade Dirk or let him walk.

While I expect the Mavericks to have a deal in place with their star, I can't help but wonder what this team would be like without him. Could they really be that much worse?

You would still have Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Erick Dampier, and Caron Butler just to name a few. A semi-young team to be sure, save for Jason Kidd, but is this really a team that would finish in the cellar of the NBA's Southwest Division? 

Even though Marion isn't exactly the guy he was when he was with the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, he still gives you a presence on the inside and can still light up the stat sheets on any given night.

Jason Kidd can do just about anything you ask him to do: assist, rebound, score, and play defense. Jason Kidd is enough of a leader to make any team he's on a top contender.

As for Erick Dampier, he seems to be the one guy that Mavericks fans want to run out of town. I talked to a friend of mine late last night who's a diehard fan of the team, and he would love to lose both Dampier and Jason Terry.

There's no question that Dirk is the face of this franchise, but if you lose out on him, don't you have $96 million or more to spend on another free agent who could possibly bring more to this franchise?

What this team needs right now is a low-post presence, something that Dampier and Brendan Haywood just aren't right now. The aforementioned Newy Scruggs mentioned  that he had contacted Shaquille O'Neal's people and learned that the center would be interested in playing for the Mavericks if they were interested in him.

He's not going to cost the team nearly as much as he would have early on in his career. The Mavs may be able to sign him to the mid-level exception to give the team another weapon outside of Dirk.

Mark Cuban hasn't been shy about opening up the checkbook and signing the players he wants. He has the money, and he wants to win, which are good things to have in an owner.

That being said, we'll have to wait and see just how serious Dirk is about coming back to Dallas and being a Maverick for the next four to five years of his career. This is the first time he's gotten a chance to test the free agent waters. I'd be surprised if there weren't a few other teams that were interested in him.

It would do him a lot of good and give him more of a piece of mind if he had meetings with those teams just to see where his value is.

While I do expect Dirk to return to the Dallas Mavericks, and I would be surprised if a deal wasn't reached between the two sides by the end of the weekend, I can't help but wonder just who the team could bring in if Dirk decides to go another direction.

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