Dirk Nowitzki is likely opting out of his final year on his contract with the Mavericks. But he likely will sign a long term extension with them after a while so that the Mavs can use the Larry Bird exception to re-sign him after they add more talent to the roster. This is a smart move for both the Mavericks and Nowitzki as he will get paid while the team gets better around him. Backup guard Jose Juan Barea has a team option for the 2010-11 season and the Mavericks will likely pick it up as he keeps getting better for them. Center Brendan Haywood and backup forward Tim Thomas are both likely goners for the Mavericks but they won’t miss them.

25-year old PG/SG Jose Juan Barea can be a free agent if the Mavericks don’t pick up their team option on him for the 2010-11 season. I think they should keep him around as he is a improving player. He played in 82 games (75 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Barea has now played in 234 games (43 starts) in his time with the Mavs in which he has averaged 16.2 minutes, 6.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

29-year old shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson has picked up his player option for the 2010-11 NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks. Stevenson played in 24 games (5 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He finished up last season playing in 64 games (18 starts) with the Wizards & Mavericks in which he averaged 13.8 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. He has now played in 645 games (427 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 23.4 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The Mavericks had to know that Stevenson wasn’t going anywhere as he would have had a hard time finding a new gig because he’s not a very good player. The Wizards forced the Mavericks to take him if they wanted Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood so they bit the bullet.

31-year old power forward Dirk Nowitzki can opt out of his contract this summer but I just don’t see him leaving over $20 million bucks on the table to test the free agent market. Nowitzki played in 81 games (80 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 37.5 minutes, 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He has now played in 920 games (895 starts) in his 12 years with the Mavs and he has averaged 36.7 minutes, 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Nowitzki’s name is all over the record books for the Mavericks. He is the all-time leader for the Mavericks in games played (920), rebounds (7,802), steals (846) and points scored (21,111). Nowitzki is also #6 all-time in Mavericks’ history in assists (2,465) and he’s #2 in blocked shots (936). Nowitzki is quite simply the best player in Mavericks’ history and I don’t think he will leave until next summer if he decides to walk.

UPDATE: (5/22/2010) – It appears as if Dirk Nowitzki is going to opt out of the final year of his contract. The Mavericks will likely try to lock up Nowitzki for a few more years if he wants to come back.

UPDATE II: (7/3/2010) – Dirk Nowitzki has signed a new 4-year, $80 million dollar deal to return to the Mavericks.