Dirk Nowitzki says 'Milwaukee would have been fun' had he remained with the Bucks after 1998 NBA draft

Dirk Nowitzki says ‘Milwaukee would have been fun’ had he remained with the Bucks after 1998 NBA draft

Posted by Admin August 14, 2024 NBA

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The partnership between the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki worked out pretty great. He’s beloved in Dallas after bringing the franchise an NBA championship and spent his entire 21-year Hall of Fame career with the Mavericks. He even has a statue outside the arena. The German-born player loved Dallas so much that he now calls the city his home.

But, of course, a footnote in his story is that the Milwaukee Bucks could have been his home after the team famously drafted him in 1998, only to trade him to the Mavericks that night. And now looking back at his career, Nowitzki knows he would have loved Milwaukee as well. Or at least the bratwursts.

The Bucks would get Michigan big man Robert “Tractor” Traylor from Dallas in a swap that then-director of scouting Larry Harris said was a deal that was done before the draft and Nowitzki never was going to be in Milwaukee.

Nonetheless, it’s one of the biggest what-ifs in Bucks franchise history.

Nowitzki recalled that draft night in his recent appearance on former Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s podcast, The Thanalysis Show.

“I think Milwaukee would have been great,” Nowitzki said.

When Antetokounmpo reminded Nowitzki that he would have fit right in, given the city’s rich German culture, Nowitzki, whose family still loves in Germany, agreed.

“A lot of bratwursts,” Nowitzki joked. “I think Milwaukee would have been fun. Being in Dallas, I enjoyed my time. It’s my new home. I still live there. It ended up working out for me. But I think Milwaukee would have been fun.”

Here’s what to know about that draft as well as Nowitzki’s relationship with former Bucks coach Jason Kidd:

Milwaukee Bucks draft Dirk Nowitzki, trade him for Robert ‘Tractor’ Traylor

The Milwaukee Bucks were looking for size in the 1998 NBA draft.

Robert “Tractor” Traylor certainly fit that at over 280 pounds.

“They wanted Tractor Traylor, who was a really good college player at Michigan at the time,” Nowitzki said.

Traylor averaged 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds as a junior before declaring for the draft.

Nowitzki, 20 years old on draft night, wasn’t even sure he was going to play in the NBA.

“I didn’t go to the draft,” Nowitzki told Antetokounmpo. “I was in Germany at the time. I wasn’t sure maybe I’ll play in Europe more. I never committed that I was going to play in the NBA. I didn’t think I was going to get drafted very high.”

He went No. 9 to the Bucks but landed with the Mavs after the draft-night swap.

“One or two days later, Don Nelson (the Mavs head coach who also coached the Bucks in the 1980s) showed up in my hometown of Wurzburg and said, ‘Hey, we want you.’ Flew me back to Dallas, met Steve Nash, (former Wisconsin Badger) Michael Finley. I loved it. I’m going to do it.”

Nowitzki went on to have an illustrious career. He became one of the greatest players of all time. He was a 14-time NBA All-Star, 12-time All-NBA honoree, won the NBA MVP in 2007 and won an NBA championship in 2011 as well as the Finals MVP. He’s sixth on the all-time scoring list and was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in 2021.

Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, along with former Marquette star Dwyane Wade.

Traylor, meanwhile, would play just two seasons with the Bucks. He was out of the NBA after the 2004-05 season and averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career.

Traylor then played internationally for several years in Turkey, Italy, Mexico and Puerto Rico. He died of a heart attack in 2011 at 34.

Dirk Nowitzki talks Jason Kidd, his time with the Bucks

Nowitzki and Kidd won an NBA championship together in 2011 in an upset over the Miami Heat in LeBron James’ first season in South Beach.

The two have been close since. A year after Kidd finished playing, he got into coaching and spent time leading the Bucks (2014-18). He’s finding more success now as the coach of the Mavericks. Kidd guided the Mavs to the NBA Finals this past season in his third year with the franchise.

“When we played together, you could already tell he was going to be a coach,” Nowitzki said. “The way he talked to the coaches, the way he analyzed film already as a player, this guy has the mind and IQ to be a coach. That was no surprise.”

Nowitzki praised his former teammate’s ability to connect to players.

“He knows how to relate to players and they show him a lot of respect,” Nowitzki said.

The coach Kidd is now is different than he was back when he started with the Bucks team in 2014, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s second year.

“I heard some of the stories from Milwaukee,” Nowitzki said. “I think he was a little. … (The Bucks) were a young team at the time. He wanted control a little bit more.”