Tony Gutierrez/Asscoiated Press - The Mavericks rewarded Dirk Nowitzki, right, for resigning with the team by filling out his supporting cast with players such as Shawn Marion, left, who have helped put Dallas in position to play for its first NBA title.
MIAMI — There is no denying the impact that one controversial decision — made nearly 11 months ago by a guy in a plaid shirt sitting uncomfortably on a folding chair inside a Boys and Girls Club — had on the 2010-11 NBA season.
From the scorned city and franchise that LeBron James left behind, to the increased television ratings and jersey sales, and also in the emotional response — be it unabashed hatred or fawning praise — the Miami Heat has generated intense reactions.
But there was another decision, made with less fanfare by another member of last summer’s heralded free agent class, that has resulted in a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals between the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.
Dirk Nowitzki simply faxed in his signature to a four-year contract that guaranteed his return to the only franchise that he had known since he was drafted in 1998. No celebratory party with 13,000 adoring fans was necessary, as Nowitzki committed with the hope, but certainly not the expectation, that a championship would be waiting for him on the other side.
“Ultimately that’s where my heart was at. I almost felt like we had unfinished business after ’06,” said Nowitzki, who remains haunted by the Mavericks’ meltdown after winning the first two games and leading by 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 before losing the series in six games. “All I needed was reassurance that [Mavericks owner Mark Cuban] was going to keep going and keep building around this team, and keep putting all his resources for us to hopefully be up there one day.”
At 32, Nowitzki is a former league’s most valuable player on the back end of his prime years, on a team with a narrowing window that managed to break through the Spurs’ and Lakers’ Western Conference stranglehold for just the second time since 1999. But while Nowitzki chose the path of comfort and familiarity, his younger counterparts — James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — all selected the immediacy of supreme assistance by joining forces.
Wade won a championship at Nowitzki’s expense, but didn’t advance beyond the first round again until this season, and even had to endure a 15-win season three years ago. “I didn’t want to waste my prime rebuilding, but I knew I had contract coming up in a couple of years and things would fast track a little bit,” Wade, 29, said.
The union wasn’t popular but they have managed to use the vitriol directed toward them as fuel for their success. “We’ve got a lot of flack this year, mostly because of myself,” said James, a two-time MVP. “Ultimately, for me, it was about being in the position to compete year after year after year. And not only being able to do that, but being able to do it with one of my best friends, one of the best players we have in this league today in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I know what this league is all about, about having multiple guys on the court that can dominate a game. Teaming up with these guys I feel like we can compete for a lot of years to come. We’ve proven a lot of people wrong so far. We have a lot of work to do still.”
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