Dirk Will Stay With Mavs

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks agreed to a two-year deal worth at least $40 million.

The deal can be signed Thursday, when the NBA moratorium on contract signings is lifted.

Nowitzki played last season on a one-year deal and has spent his entire 18-year career with the Mavericks. He is sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 29,491 career points.

The Mavericks missed out on two primary free agent targets on the first two days of July, when point guard Mike Conley (Memphis) and center Hassan Whiteside (Miami) re-signed to remain with their current teams.

But Dallas did land two likely starters in Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, castoffs from the Golden State Warriors who became available after Kevin Durant landed in Oakland on Monday.

Barnes was a restricted free agent but the Warriors renounced his rights to clear cap space needed to bring Durant aboard and then agreed to the deal involving Bogut. The rebuilt roster gives Nowitzki another chance to carry the Mavericks out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 NBA title.

Nowitzki turned 38 in June and said he is not a lock to play two more years.

He declined his $8.7 million player option for 2016-17 and became a free agent, but the Mavericks never fretted Nowitzki’s departure.

Owner Mark Cuban said last month that Nowitzki, acquired on draft night in 1998, has earned carte blanche with the franchise.

“Dirk gets to do what Dirk wants,” Cuban said. “Period. End of story. I told him the other day: If Dirk wants to be the head coach, we’ll move Rick (Carlisle) over a little bit. Dirk’s done so much for this franchise, he’s earned that opportunity.

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