The Dallas Mavericks have informed Dirk Nowitzki that they will decline his team option for the 2017-18 season in favor of signing the face of their franchise to a new contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN. Had the Mavericks exercised his option, Nowitzki would have been paid a salary of $25 million next season. Dallas signed the 38-year-old to two a two-year deal during the 2016 off-season.

The Mavericks have until Thursday June 29, to notify the league of their intentions regarding the second-year of Nowitzki deal.

According to Stein, the Mavericks are strongly considering signing the veteran of 19 seasons to a two-year deal, which comes as a bit of a surprise because Stein notes that Nowitzki has voiced in the past that from this stage onward in his career he would like to decide whether he should retire on a season-by-season basis.

Stein does, however, cite sources that say Dallas will approach negotiations with the forward by doing "what Dirk wants."

The Dallas Mavericks finished last season with a record 33-49, which saw them fail to qualify for the postseason. Stein writes that the Mavericks do not have intentions of pursuing marquee free agents, but Stein also reported recently that re-signing 23-year-old unrestricted free-agent centre Nerlens Noel is "Dallas off-season priority".

Nowitzki averaged 14.2 points and 6.5 rebounds playing in 54 games last season. His point per game average and games played were the lowest he's recorded since his rookie campaign.