Dirk Nowitzki is willing to do something that no one else seems ready to do.
The Dallas Mavericks star forward wants to lure big-name free agents Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to play alongside him in 2013-14 and has appears to be a unique sales pitch, the Dallas Morning News reports.
He is willing to take a significant pay cut to add more talent.
Both Paul, currently with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers center, become free agents on July 1.
Nowitzki turns 35 on June 19, and he wants the Mavericks to return to the postseason after missing out in 2012-13. Dallas won the NBA championship in 2010-11.
He discussed the Mavericks' options with a Dallas radio station, KESN-FM, on Thursday.
"If we don't get the two monsters then we got to find another way," Nowitzki said, "through sign-and-trades or other free agents that are out there."
The Mavericks signed several players to one-year contracts in 2012-13, which Nowitzki was an incorrect strategy. Dallas finished with a 41-41 record this past season, which was good enough for only 10th place in the Western Conference.
"It's time to take a step forward and again be a threat in the playoffs," Nowitzki told the radio station.
Part of the reason Nowitzki is offering to take a pay cut is that he becomes a free agent himself at the end of next season. He said he will look to sign a two- to three-year deal then.
The Mavericks may be hard pressed to land both free agents because of salary cap issues, but Nowitzki didn't have a preference.
"They're both dominant in their own way" Nowitzki said. "That's a tough choice. I'd be happy with either one, to be honest."
Nowitzki said he thought Howard was returning to his dominant self toward the end of last season after spending the first part of the season recovering from back surgery at the end of the 2011-12 season. Paul's ability to make plays appeals to Nowitzki because it opens the floor for other players.
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