Man, Meet Acceptance

Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 14, 2009 under Commentary, News |

In continuing with a string of oddities this summer, Dirk Nowitzki will not be allowed to play with the German National team for the European Championships.  From ESPN/AP:

The German basketball federation said Friday that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would not allow Nowitzki to take part in the championship, even though the forward has played for Germany at several major international events before. Federation president Ingo Weiss said there were no hard feelings, however, and that “we accept this decision completely.” Weiss said that “over the past 10 years, we’ve had an excellent and reliable partnership with Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, who always made it possible for Dirk to play for the national team.” Nowitzki said he would have liked to play, “but I can understand Mark Cuban’s position.” Cuban confirmed in an e-mail to the Dallas Morning News that he had nixed Nowitzki’s participation in the European Championship. “We had agreed last year that after his Olympics run, he would take a year off,” Cuban told the Morning News. “That simple. He is not retiring from International Competition.”

Dirk is pretty much the face, head, neck, greater shoulders area, vertebrae, life blood, and relevant limbs and appendages of the German national team, and without him they’re pretty much dead in the water.  That doesn’t really concern most of us, but there should be a few dimensions of this news that pique your interest as a Mavs fan.

First and foremost, this is a signal that Dirk is not your typical superstar.  It only makes sense that if the NBA is a players’ league, decisions from on high within the organizations are made to cater to the needs and interests of the best players.  Dirk undoubtedly fills that role for the Mavs, and yet here is a clear compromise between star and owner.  Mark Cuban has long preached the horrors of international competition from the perspective of a business owner and a man greatly vested in the team, a fact which Dirk must know all too well.  While Dirk is rooted in the German national team to say the least (Dirk, after qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games: “I never thought I would cry because of basketball, but I could not stop the tears. I had to be alone for a little bit right after the game and could not even do the post-game interview.”), the fact that he honored his commitment or even made such a commitment in the first place to the Mavs’ organization speaks to Dirk’s character.  It’s not something we didn’t already know about ze German, but it never hurts to have a reminder.

Also, keep in mind that Dirk is functionally a free agent next season.  He could jump ship next summer if he so chooses, and yet Mark Cuban is still willing to stick to his guns in this case.  That’s Cuban’s involvement and power as an owner coming into play, as well as a trust in and understanding of Dirk.  If tensions were high or if Dirk were a high maintenance fella, other accommodations might have to be made.  But they’re not and he’s not, which turns a potentially disastrous situation into a manageable one because of Dirk’s easy going nature.  Dirk’s just a ‘chill bro’ who wants to play some basketball, and we should all be thankful for that.

And finally, Cuban’s reminder of his deal with Dirk last summer confirms that this decision is not a reaction to Pau Gasol’s recent injury playing for his national team.  More than a few MFFLS will be quick to tell you what happened last time the Mavs became reactionaries to the goings-on of one Pau Gasol, and it’s hard to blame them.  It’s important to know that your team is willing to make moves to adjust to what’s going on around them (lest you’d prefer pretending to ignore the assassin before he stabs you in the back), but more important to know that organizational moves are being dictated internally.  I like my puppets dancing by magic, thank you, not because Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich is tugging at their strings.