The Luka Doncic trade took a toll on the entire Dallas Mavericks fan base, and Nico Harrison became an enemy in his own city. That was until he was eventually fired early into the 2025-26 season. The mental toll extended to Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, and it took him a while to trust the program after the trade.
After making some amends and taking Cooper Flagg under his wing, it looks like the new Mavs leadership is back to square one to rekindle a relationship with Nowitzki.
In an interview with KXAS-TV (NBC 5), Nowitzki was asked what would happen to his statue once the Mavs make their reported move to the old Valley View Mall site in 2031. Nowitzki's answer will leave fans feeling empty.
"I would guess it would move if it's portable. I haven't really been in the Mavs loop much. Of course, there's new leadership in place now, and I'm sure there's going to be more discussions over the next few months."
Dirk Nowitzki hasn't been in the loop since the Mavericks' leadership changed
This season, Nowitzki took Flagg under his wing, as a new face to look forward to after mentoring Doncic for nearly seven seasons. Needless to say, the Mavs got lucky, as they only had a 1.8 percent chance to get the No. 1 pick. The basketball gods ended up paying Dallas back for the awful Doncic trade, and Flagg was awarded to Dallas.
Most of Nowitzki being out of the loop mostly has to do with the new ownership in charge. The Mavs mutually agreed to part ways with Jason Kidd, and co-general manager Matt Riccardi walked out the door too. Masai Ujiri, a man with a history of building championship culture, is now the team president, and Mike Schmitz is the new GM.
It may be a small thing to some, but we all know how much of a voice Nowitzki has in the DFW region. 21 years with one team? He's more than deserving to be in every part of the loop, and it's a shame that he says he's not.
This is a lot to handle for even the basic fan, and much more for Nowitzki. In a span of 15 months, he saw the face of the city get traded, Anthony Davis get traded, Harrison get fired, and Kidd leave the team.
The only hope for the Mavs to rekindle anything with Nowitzki will have to do with the help of a 19-year-old kid. Yup, you guessed it, that would be Flagg.
It may be hard for a 19-year-old to handle this kind of pressure on a fiery fan base like Dallas. Luckily, Flagg is already handling the easy work of communicating with Nowitzki, as he himself said he talks with the Mavs legend often.
Nowitzki has been down this road before after the Doncic trade, and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, Ujiri and Schmitz need to reach out to the greatest Maverick of all-time.
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