Dirk working with Cuban to plan statue, jersey retirement

Dirk Nowitzki is heading up his own statue and jersey retirement planning committees.

The retired Dallas Mavericks legend met with owner Mark Cuban last week to discuss, in part, how the team plans to commemorate him.

"Everything," Cuban told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News when asked what the meeting was about. "But most of it was (Nowitzki asking) 'What do you want to do about retiring my jersey' and 'What do you want to do about the statue?'"

It's unlikely either will happen this season. Cuban estimates it could take at least a year to plan and build what he's promised will be "the biggest, most badass statue ever" of Nowitzki, who has already been consulted on some of the designs.

"He had seen some that he didn't like, and he told me about those," Cuban said. "I wanted to see the stuff he didn't like.

"It's going to take time. I've got to get him some different artists, and I've gone and looked at some."

In the meantime, the Mavs will pay tribute to Nowitzki with a new court design featuring his silhouette at each end - an idea hatched by Cuban.

"I just wanted there to be something that always was there," Cuban said. "Everybody had done all the normal stuff and I wanted it to be something that really stood out, and that you couldn't miss, and everyone would recognize it."