SACRAMENTO, Calif. – It was less than two years ago that the Dallas Mavericks were first-time NBA champions. With the front office focusing on the future instead of a chance to repeat with an aging roster, the team made major changes.

According to star Dirk Nowitzki, the franchise actually considered trading him before deciding to get rid of nearly everyone else in hopes of landing a marquee free agent such as Dwight Howard, Deron Williams or Chris Paul.

The plan hasn't worked. Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Rodrigue Beaubois are the only players remaining from the title team, and the struggling Mavericks, who failed to land a major free agent, could miss the playoffs. While Nowitzki is still holding out hope for an “unbelievable” free-agent splash this summer, he has pondered the possible success that was lost after the post-title changes.

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“That's what we went for [a marquee free agent]. Unfortunately, now it ain't looking too good,” Nowitzki said after the Mavericks' 117-112 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night improved their record to 14-23. “But I think you can judge if we made a mistake or not on what we do with the [salary] cap space. We don't know if we can actually turn that cap space into something unbelievable.

“If we can do that, maybe it's a good choice. As of right now, it's tough. We are fighting for the eighth seed. It's obviously not what we want to do in Dallas. We want to win championships and we want to always play for the top four seeds. So right now, it's tough to see where the future is going.”

Nowitzki, who turns 35 on June 19, took some time recently to talk with Yahoo! Sports about a number of topics, including the future, the Mavericks’ direction and his health after having knee surgery in October.

Q: Could it be in the best interest for the Mavericks to trade you while you still have strong value?

Nowitzki: “That is a tough question. You have to ask that to [owner] Mark [Cuban] and [general manager] Donnie [Nelson] if that's something they would consider. As far as I'm concerned, I think I am going to finish my career in Dallas. I really only have this year and next year left on my contract for big money and then we will see what happens. The good thing is we have [salary] cap space for the first time in my career. We've always been over the cap. We've never been able to sign someone flat-out. We always had to do different deals to get somebody in.

“The good thing with cap space is you can turn your situation around pretty quick. It might look a little ugly at times this year, but you can take chances on a contract and be a player in free agency this year.”

[Also: Wake up, Lakers; trade Dwight Howard now]

Q: How much were you involved in the recruitment of Dallas native Deron Williams before he chose to re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets last off-season rather than with the Mavericks?

Nowitzki: “I talked to him actually. We partied at one of the All-Star Games a long time ago. I've had his number. We've been talking. He's from Dallas, I know that. But he made the decision that was best for him and for his family. I wasn't mad at that. It is what it is. I have to move on.

“I've said a million times, 'You got two options: If you don't get the big fish and there was nobody else out there, either blow up the whole team or trade me or trade everybody; or keep your core, get a bunch of one year deals in and try to be a player in the next summer when you have cap space again.' [The second option] is the best option we went for.

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