Dirk Nowitzki tried deep breaths and long pauses, but his mind and heart told him Wednesday was no time for diplomacy.

Not with Avery Johnson out as coach. Not after a second straight Mavericks first-round playoff humiliation. Not with who knows what on the horizon.

"For me, personally, I feel like it's another wasted year," he said. "I'm in my prime right now. I'm almost 30 now, so I feel like I wasted another great opportunity to win the title and bring it here to Dallas."

Nowitzki figured there was no way he would find himself in an even worse vantage point than last year, when his 67-win Mavericks were toppled by Golden State.

This time last year, Nowitzki could rationalize that the Mavericks were maybe a player or two from returning to title contention, that they simply drew a bad playoff matchup.

But now the Mavericks are a considerably older team, with no head coach. Nowitzki said "the way we represented each other on the court, nobody should be safe." On three occasions, he addressed next season by mixing in the phrase "if I'm going to be here."

"The way we played, we were a first-round exit," he said. "Just one coach, I don't know if just a new coach can fix it all. So I'm sure there will be some player movements."

Nowitzki, who turns 30 on June 19, just completed his 10th season as a Maverick. He has played for two coaches, Johnson and Don Nelson.

He praised Johnson for taking the franchise to its first NBA Finals berth in 2006, adding "we owe him a lot." He also disputed any assertion that he and his teammates lost faith in Johnson this season, saying, "We gave it our best until the very end."

But when pressed about whether the Mavericks took advantage of Jason Kidd's strengths after he was acquired on Feb. 19, Nowitzki took a deep breath.

"I mean, we probably could have opened it up more, a little more free-flow, let Jason create and not just make him a weak-side spot-up shooter. But, you know, Avery had us believe in his system."

But it doesn't sound as if Nowitzki would favor hiring a replacement in the mold of Phoenix's Mike D'Antoni.

"Obviously, we've got to bring a coach in that brings out the best out of what he's got here," Nowitzki said. "Open up the offense a lot more, run. But still a guy who knows how to coach defense in the league.

"You don't basically want to go back to the Nellie days where we just run and gun and have fun and we got scored on every time down, either. That's obviously not the solution to get where we want to get to."

He joined the franchise when it was one of the worst in sports. He has been the one constant through eight straight 50-win seasons.

His next objective is to help Germany qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Then?

"Come back a better player, a better person, if I'm back, give it another try."