Dirk Nowitzki admits Mavs are tanking games, but claims players are still competing

It’s no secret that the Mavs are tanking. Team owner Mark Cuban even went on record and said it was their best option, and now the Mavs’ veteran leader — who was vehemently against tanking — has confirmed it.

Dirk Nowitzki was asked about the team’s strategy on Wednesday, and he shared his thoughts on the current state of the team. When asked about tanking, he had this to say:

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious,” he said, via Eddie Sefko of SportsDay.

Nowitzki, however, still maintains that the team’s players are competing on the court.

“We keep playing hard,” he said. “There obviously are some teams that are going for some losses now. We’re one of the teams that still wants to win and see where we end up in the draft.

“We want to have a winning culture for our young guys and show them how to play and the work ethic and how to play to win. So that’s very important to us.”

So it appears as if the team is playing its young guys over its veterans, in an effort to tank, but the players are still giving it their all.

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