Dirk Nowitzki Has Little Interest in Free Agency

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki can become a free agent after this season but appears unlikely to do so.

"I've always said it wouldn't feel right if I left the Mavericks," Nowitzki told Fanhouse on Friday. "I've played my heart out in Dallas for 12 years, so going somewhere else doesn't sound good to me. I'm not even sure how a championship would feel somewhere else. I know what it would feel like to do it in Dallas."

Nowitzki is scheduled to make $21.5 million next season, but opting out this summer would allow him to sign another long-term contract before the league's collective bargaining agreement expires in the summer of 2011.

"In this business, you know how it is, but I hadn't planned on opting out," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, I want to finish my career in Dallas. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."