After Kobe Bryant signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him in Los Angeles perhaps until the end of his career, Dirk Nowitzki reacted to the signing saying he is happy for Kobe's deal but indicated he won't sign an extension with the Dallas Mavericks meaning he'll become a free agent next year.
"Obviously, it's good for Kobe," said Nowitzki as quoted by NBA.com. "That's a lot of money for a 35-year-old, but if one guy earned it, it's definitely Kobe."
Nowitzki has a year left on a contract that pays him $22.7 million this year, the next highest in the league after Bryant's $30.5 million.
Asked about his plans after this year, the Mavericks franchise player said: ""I have no idea at this point, my contract is coming off, 'Trix [Shawn Marion] is coming off, Vince[Carter] is coming off and so there's a lot of money under the cap to make this team better. Like I said, this is Game 13 or 14 of the season, I'm more worried about [this] season than July."
He continued: "I don't really want to look forward too much. I'm not going to extend, obviously. I want to play the season out and then we can talk about the summer. I want to have a good season. I want to have an injury-free season and then [coach/agent] Holger's going to take his leather coat and meet with [Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban] in the bunker suite and we'll go from there."
Nowitzki said that his main priority now is getting his team back to the playoffs. "We have a real shot at it and that's really what I'm focused on. I'm not really worried about extensions at this point."
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