Cuban estimated that a statue of Nowitzki could take up to a year to plan, commission and createNBAE/getty images
Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki are "co-planning Nowitzki's jersey retirement ceremony and statue," and most indications are that "neither the statue unveiling or jersey retirement will occur this season," according to Brad Townsend of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Cuban estimates that a statue "could take at least one year to plan, commission and create." As for what job Nowitzki might eventually settle into with the organization, Cuban said that "neither he nor Nowitzki broached that subject" during a recent meeting. While it appears there will be "no formal Nowitzki ceremonies inside the arena this season, it's expected that Nowitzki will be part of the formal dedication of the renamed 'Nowitzki Way' alongside the arena, replacing a portion of Olive Street." This season's redesigned American Airlines Center court "features logos on each end of Nowitzki in silhouette, shooting his familiar one-legged jumper." Sources said that Cuban "came up with the idea." Cuban said that the original mockup was "flip-flopped, so that one of the Nowitzki logos would be directly in front of the Mavericks' bench, the other on the side of the court that Mavericks players exit at halftime and after games." Cuban: "I just wanted there to be something that always was there. Everybody had done all the normal stuff and I wanted it to be something that really stood out, and that you couldn't miss" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/15).
