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Townsend: With retirement off the table, next questions for Dirk surround his Dallas future

Dirk Nowitzki kept telling us this season that he would like to play another year, maybe even more.

His play was strong in the regular season and playoffs, showing that his passion had not wavered. Still, uncertainty nagged on two levels until Tuesday, when Nowitzki answered one question emphatically and gave strong assurance on the other.

"I definitely won't retire," 37-year-old Nowitzki said Tuesday, a day after the Mavericks’ season-ending playoffs loss at Oklahoma City.

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“I felt great this year. I feel like I can still play efficient enough to be there for the team. So, no, retirement is no question at all."

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Which means the important remaining question is whether will remain a Dallas Maverick, the franchise for which he’s played all 18 of his NBA seasons.

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He signed a 3-year, $25 million contract in the summer of 2014, but the final year has a player option. Nowitzki’s contract stipulates that he inform the franchise at least 24 hours before the June 23 NBA draft whether he will exercise his right to opt out of the third year.

Nowitzki could choose to not exercise the option and play for the $8.7 million he is scheduled to make. If he opts out of the third year, he could sign with another team, or sign for a different amount and perhaps an additional year or years to stay in Dallas.

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After Monday night’s loss to the Thunder, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle spoke of Nowitzki’s contract option, adding "We've got to hope that this isn't Dirk's last game as a Maverick.” Carlisle said that if necessary he is prepared to fly to Germany to recruit Nowitzki.

Nowitzki was asked Tuesday whether Carlisle mentioning the possibility of him not remaining a Maverick was “crazy talk.”

"Yeah, pretty much," Nowitzki said. "I'm not sure where that came from. I never said I was going to leave this franchise. The only way I would ever leave, is like I said and always have, is when we do rebuilding and start with five rookies.

"As long as we go for it and compete, then I'll be a Mav."

Nowitzki said he hasn’t discussed his future with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban or vice president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, never mind received assurances that franchise won’t go into teardown-and-rebuild mode.

“It's going to be a long summer,” Nowitzki said. “It's early. And knowing Mark and Donnie, we always go for it."

Nowitzki’s June 22 deadline for deciding whether to exercise his player option comes three days after his 38th birthday.

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It scarcely matters that decision-day is before the draft, since the Mavericks don’t have a first-round choice, anyway. But it’s significant that he must decide before free agency season opens on July 1. As of June 22, Nowitzki will only know what Dallas plans to do.

And as everyone knows, Mavericks plans haven't materialized in any of the offseasons since they won the 2011 NBA title.

Fizzled plans were not what Nowitzki had in mind when he gave the franchise the steep hometown discount two summers ago. The Mavericks thought they reeled in a major free agent last July, but center DeAndre Jordan reneged on the verbal commitment he’d given to Cuban.

"Certainly, all roads go through the Big German right now," Nelson said Tuesday. "We'll sit down, at the right time, and see what it takes to get him back in a Mavs uniform.

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“But whatever that is, he deserves it. There's not a player that I've been around that has his kind of winning software.

"He's our Roger (Staubach), our Troy (Aikman), our Mike Modano, Nolan Ryan, that's who he is. He deserves the courtesy of the first sit-down."

Carlisle spoke admiringly Tuesday of Nowitzki’s day-to-day, process-oriented approach, his meticulous diet and daily workouts.

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“And he loves it,” Carlisle added. “And more than that, he loves the game. I expect him to just continue on and when it becomes time to stop, he’ll know it. And my guess is there won’t be a lot of fanfare with it.”

This season, Nowitzki increased his scoring average to 18.3, up from last season’s 17.3. His 6.5 rebound average was a jump from last season’s 5.9 and his highest since 2012-13.

Consider that Kobe Bryant, two months younger than Nowitzki, saw his scoring average plummet from 22.3 to 17.6 in this, his 20th and last NBA season.

How passionate does Nowitzki remain about the sport? On Tuesday he mentioned the possibility of playing for Germany's national team this summer.

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After playing for Germany in last summer’s EuroBasket tournament in Berlin, Nowitzki had announced his retirement from international competition.

But Nowitzki said Tuesday that a squabble between FIBA and Euroleague has opened the possibility of Germany hosting a pre-Olympic tournament.

“If that's the case, then I might have to un-retire, unfortunately, at 38,” Nowitzki said.

Of course, he meant un-retire from international play, since he made it very clear that he has no intention of retiring from the NBA.

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Twitter: @Townbrad

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