DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki hasn't touched a basketball in two months. But Thursday, in his first media appearance of the new season, the MVP of the NBA Finals touched a few dozen palms as he warmly greeted and shook hands with every reporter in attendance. And then the Dallas Mavericks superstar touched on the topic of the day before Friday's opening of training camp. "In a dream world,'' he said, "we would keep Tyson (Chandler) and sign Dwight, CP and Deron,'' he joked. "But it's not a dream world." Maybe it is just the reflection off the Larry O'Brien Trophy, but even as Chandler seems certain to depart Dallas (he's involved in a Warriors-vs.-Knicks bidding war), Nowitzki nevertheless offered a sunny view on the upcoming season. The 33-year-old jokingly acknowledged the team's veteran status ("Everybody knows we're old'') while also declaring complete faith in the direction of the franchise led by owner Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson. "Donnie has the knowledge and Cuban always has got some stuff (up his sleeve),'' said Nowitzki, who has worked with the front-office tandem in leading Dallas to 11 consecutive 50-win-plus seasons. "(Cuban) finds ways to get around the rules … We'll have to wait and see." It would take great creativity for the Mavs to simultaneously execute what seems to be Plan A and Plan B; that is, to retain the free-agent core of the championship roster of a year ago (Chandler) while also "keeping their powder dry" in pursuit of 2012 free-agents-to-be Dwight Howard, Chris Paul or Deron Williams. But Nowitzki's comments suggest that the notion that the Mavs are satisfied with their title and are now preparing for a downturn is unfounded. We're going to start practice tomorrow and we don't even know what our team is,'' he said. "(But) whoever our team is, we're going to put a good product out there.'' Nowitzki also noted that he hasn't been in contact with the Dallas front office over the course of the summer, a side effect of the league's lockout-related ban on such communication. There will be those who take Dirk's remarks as "sky-is-falling'' indicators. But Dirk is close to Cuban and Nelson and is acutely aware of the organization's overall direction. "Donnie and Cubes, they're going to make the right decisions for this team," Nowitzki said. Nowitzki mentioned the tough decision faced by the Mavs as they attempt to balance present success with future promise. He said that no matter Chandler's future employer, "he will always be family. He will always be close to us.'' He is also especially tight with JJ Barea, the diminutive guard who seems destined to leave Dallas for greater offers. And Nowitzki seemed resigned to the money-related changes and even joked about the discounted deal (at $80 mil, $16 mil less than he was eligible for) he signed with Dallas last year. "I guess I didn't take less enough,'' Nowitzki said. But he perked up as he rattled off the names of teammates (including promising but oft-injured combo guard Roddy Beaubois) and when he mentioned cheerily that in his 13-year tenure in Dallas, "we've never really had cap space once." If that sounds like Dirk is aware Dallas is in shopping mode — especially as the Mavs are slated to have just 10 experienced bodies in camp this weekend — he is. Again, though, basking in the first championship in the franchise's 31-year history is near top-of-mind for Nowitzki, who was asked if it will be especially sweet on Christmas Day to open the season and see the championship banner raised in front of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the "villainous'' Miami Heat. "Oh, it doesn't matter … it would be huge if we were to raise the banner vs. Milwaukee,'' he said. "It isn't about who is standing over there. It's about our fans and our team.'' Dirk被問到在熱火面前升冠軍旗有沒有特別的爽感 他老兄則是說這件事情只和小牛&小牛迷有關 和誰是我們的對手無關的 Dirk's world sunny despite Mavs' unknowns Mavericks現在面臨了同時必須考慮保持戰力&未來的情況 而Nowitzki則是表示出對球隊高層完全的信任 --

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