Nowitzki willing to share the spotlight

Dirk Nowitzki isn't ready to hang up his Mavericks shorts for the final time just yet. The face of the Dallas hoops franchise said Sunday that as long as he's still able to drive and post, he'll stay in the game for, "a couple more years." Nowitzki, who turns 34 next month, has two more years on his current contract. Perhaps adding a superstar could make things easier on one of the game's greatest players. But would Nowitzki be comfortable having another player be the focus of a team that has been built around him for the past 14 seasons? "If that's the case I'd love to hand over the keys," Nowitzki said. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. I still think I can play some great basketball and I can still contribute to a good team." Among several other topics discussed during his 15 minutes with the media, Nowitzki talked about a few Mavericks that enter free agency this summer. Scoring guard Jason Terry , point guard Jason Kidd and coach Rick Carlisle were all in the final year of their contracts. Here's what Nowitzki had to say about each. On Terry: "He's my man. We obviously went through a whole lot. A lot of ups, a lot of downs. The playoff losses every year. We fought a lot on the court. We made up after. He's a great guy. We all know what he means on the court. He's one of the best clutch shooters I think this league has ever seen." On Carlisle: "I think he's a great coach. He led us to the promised land. He found a good mix of giving us freedom to play, also pulling us back when we were struggling some to get something going. He always had us prepared to compete. He can adjust during the games. I think he did a fantastic job here in the four years." On Kidd: "I was very fortunate to play in my career with the best passing point guards there ever where with Steve Nash and him. He's been great. He's been a warrior. Probably one of the fiercest competitors I've ever been around. We wish to have him back but of he decides there's a good team that he can come off the bench and give them something and he leaves, then I can't be mad at him." Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota