If leadership is honesty, then Dirk Nowitzki asserted himself again on Wednesday. After the divorce between Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks and Avery Johnson, several players were asked if Johnson's offense took full advantage of Jason Kidd's abilities.
Nowitzki was the only one to answer bluntly, although he paused -- and I timed this -- a full seven seconds before responding.
"We probably could have opened it up a little more, have a little more free flow, let Jason create and not just make him a weakside spot-up shooter," Nowitzki said. "But you know, Avery had us believing in the system, and that's the way he thought we could be the most efficient -- be the best team we can be, and things just didn't work out."
Dirk wasn't finished, and he was equally blunt when talking about former coach Don Nelson and what he'd like to see in the Mavericks' next coach.
"Obviously we've got to bring a coach in that brings the best out of what he's got here," Nowitzki said. "Open up the offense, have a lot more running, but still a guy who knows how to coach defense. You don't basically want to go back to the Nellie days where we just run and gun and have fun and you get scored on every time down, either. That's obviously not the solution you want."
Nowitzki, however, did not simply blame others. He stated, in a way that seemed sincere yet sounded outrageous to everyone listening, that he's not even sure he'll be back. And he was talking about the possibility of Cuban trading him.
"None of the players are safe, really, as far as I'm concerned," Nowitzki said. "The way we played, we were a first-round exit. I don't know if just a new coach can fix it all. I'm sure there will be some player movements. To me, the way we [played], nobody should be safe. All the players should be worried."
In his own way, Nowitzki summarized the popular notion that has been making the rounds in recent weeks. If this team was not successful in the playoffs, many local deep thinkers suggested that the way to fix the roster would be to "blow it up."
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In a time of crisis, Nowitzki tells it like it is
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