The Warriors "Want" Dirk Nowitzki, Any Way He Leaves Dallas?

The Warriors, who felt indomitable for much of this season, suddenly looked (comparatively) vulnerable in these playoffs and especially the Finals. There are certainly needs this offseason. Kevin Durant has reportedly been on the team’s radar for months; that possibility sparked this lively debate between my boss, Jason McIntyre, as well as Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock today.

Whether Durant is even amenable to leaving Oklahoma City remains to be seen, but another interesting name has popped up, via Tim Kawakami — Dirk Nowitzki. Kawakami writes:

"And Nowitzki–who won a title with Dallas in 2011 but hasn’t won a playoff series since–is somebody Warriors management has circled. Does he want to a multi-year deal to start at center? Come off the bench? Be featured in the second-quarter unit with Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston? Yes, Nowitzki in that spot over Marreese Speights or Festus Ezeli is an upgrade for the 2017 playoffs, put it that way."

Dirk, who is 38, has one year left in his contract with the Mavs, but he has an opt out clause. “When I signed on for three years a couple years ago, my intention was always to finish this contract,” Nowitzki said this past April. “But … I always said that the last couple of years that I never want to be part of any rebuilding.”

So … he’s left the door open to leave Dallas if they choose to overhaul their roster and look toward the future. This might be their best option, as they haven’t reached the second round of the playoffs since they won the title in 2011. As is the case with all these types of things this time of year, it’s impossible to know what will happen, but Dirk-to-the-Warriors is an intriguing scenario to think about.