Dallas Mavericks: 2015-16 Season Outlook

Three Key Storylines

1. Is This How Dirk’s Career Ends?

You can only blame Mark Cuban so much for the current situation his team is in. In fact, it was his devotion to putting a competitive team around his big German superstar — the Rondo trade most of all — that got the Mavs into this mess in the first place. When the Mavs could never land the big fish in free agency, they had to take another route.

By gambling on short-term assets to surround Nowitzki with as much talent as possible, the Mavericks are almost completely devoid of the kind of talent needed to make a playoff run. All this begs the question: is there any way Dirk Nowitzki’s career doesn’t end on a depressing note?

Last season, Nowitzki averaged 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per game — the lowest numbers since his rookie season. At age 37, Dirk is starting to look a step slow on the offensive end, and he’s looked a step slow on the defensive end for years now.

When you’re the greatest player in the history of an NBA franchise, you have the luxury of being able to play for as long as you want. With a contract that includes a player option for 2016-17, this might not be Dirk’s last year in the league, and there’s no question about his status as one of the all-time greats.

But unless Cuban is able to work out some real magic over the next 365 days, Nowitzki may have already played for his last true playoff contender.

Next: Storyline: Will Matthews Be The Same?