Dirk would've loved to play for Mavs with Luka and Porzingis but his body said otherwise

Dirk would've loved to play for Mavs with Luka and Porzingis but his body said otherwise

The Dallas Mavericks are entering a new era without Dirk Nowitzki. And yes, in this era led by Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, it would've been nice for Dirk to hang on for a bit. But ... 

ESPN caught up with Dirk and asked him for his in-retirement thoughts about the possibility of playing with Luka and Kristaps. The 2011 Finals MVP admitted that he would have loved to have done do, but his body just isn’t permitting him to have one last go-round next season.

“I know I would love to but just my foot wasn’t great last year,'' he said. "My body just told me it’s just time. I could still probably do it but the foot just said it’s no more.”

Dallas is about to go through some culture shock with the end of the 20-year era of Nowitzki ... even as we all agree that there is a bright future here due to the pairing of Doncic and Porzingis.

Dirk, of course, did get to play with Doncic in his final campaign, and took great joy in doing so. but Nowitzki struggled with foot and ankle problems for the better part of the 2018-19 season. ... and notes in this interview that it took "hours and hours'' to get ready for every game.

He'll still be around, of course, as a fixture in DFW and with the Mavs.

"Eventually I'll find something I want to do,'' Dirk said, suggesting it will be in the world of basketball -- and, we all hope, in the world of the Mavs.