Dirk Nowitzki Q&A: Mavericks All-Star committed to Dallas

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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Without Kevin Love, Where do The Timberwolves Go?

On Wednesday afternoon, Yahoo!'s own Marc Spears reported that All-Star power forward Kevin Love will miss 8-to-10 weeks after undergoing hand surgery on the same broken right hand that kept him out of the Minnesota Timberwolves first nine games this season. Love reinjured the hand in a January 3 game against the Denver Nuggets and had already missed the team's last two games as he sought medical opinions and weighed options. This report built off an earlier note from Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com that Love was likely to miss at least three months while rehabbing.

It's obviously bad news for the Wolves, a playoff hopeful that's had to deal with a number of injuries to key players already this season. Will the loss of Love be too much to handle? And what does it mean for a young team that expected to make great strides this season?

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Competing sports labels re-up multi-year partnerships with professional basketball league for sim, arcade titles; NBA 2K11 sells 5 million.

Unlike football and baseball, the basketball court is an arena in which EA Sports and 2K Sports are free to go head-to-head with officially licensed simulations. That level of competition will continue in the future, as the National Basketball Association announced today that it has extended its partnership with both publishers to continue producing games based on the league's teams and stars.

NBA 2K11 sales now stand at more than 5 million.

The NBA did not indicate when the new partnership deals are set to expire, saying only that they were multi-year arrangements. 2K Sports had not responded to a request for clarification as of press time, while EA Sports declined to comment. The deal allows both publishers to create traditional 5-on-5 hard-court simulations, as well as arcade-style games, for consoles, online services, and mobile devices.

2K Sports made the most of its license last year, afterEA Sports canceled the Elite reboot of its NBA Live franchise. According to today's announcement, NBA 2K11 has now sold more than 5 million units, making it the fastest-selling title for both the franchise and Take-Two's sports publishing label.

NBA 2K12 may have another big year in 2011, as EA Sports doesn't plan to return to its simulation franchise until 2012. However, the publishing label does plan on releasing a new installment in its arcade-style NBA Jam series this year. Titled NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, the game is expected to be available through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this October.