Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t want to sound any alarms, but he also wants to be realistic.
For the second training camp in a row, his right knee is sore and swollen. Last season, it took nearly two months to get right.
Now, it’s back and Nowitzki would not duck the issue about what will happen if this situation lingers.
“We’ll see how it responds,” he said. “But the longer we wait, obviously the worse it is. If we have to do something, it’d be better to do it quick.
“But we’re still hopeful that this is a temporary thing. If we relax and rest it for a week and see how it goes, then we’ll have a better idea.”
“To do something,” means to go in and clean up whatever is inside Nowitzki’s knee that is causing the inflammation. Those things that are done to alleviate wear-and-tear problems usually are relatively minor arthroscopic procedures that only require a few weeks of recovery.
And, just like that, my complete avoidance of Dirk in drafts this year looks completely justified. Could be a solid buy low if the procedure isn't too invasive.
Fenris-77 wrote:And, just like that, my complete avoidance of Dirk in drafts this year looks completely justified. Could be a solid buy low if the procedure isn't too invasive.
Agreed. He was on my do not draft list too. Brand owners have got to be happy though.
I don't think this needs to be a death penalty for the guy. Last season post All-Star break he had a really fantastic season and produced very well. This sounds like its on a much less serious level than what he experienced last year. Lord knows the guy has had time off to take care of himself this time around. He is getting older, but I still think he is a very solid late 1st rounder. I don't expect these problems to hinder those expectations.
Having said that, I am a huge Mavs fan, and own him in multiple leagues, so there is some bias there.
Harktheclark wrote:I don't think this needs to be a death penalty for the guy. Last season post All-Star break he had a really fantastic season and produced very well. This sounds like its on a much less serious level than what he experienced last year. Lord knows the guy has had time off to take care of himself this time around. He is getting older, but I still think he is a very solid late 1st rounder. I don't expect these problems to hinder those expectations.
Having said that, I am a huge Mavs fan, and own him in multiple leagues, so there is some bias there.
Don't think Fenris nor I are saying do not touch under any circumstances. Merely, for a first round pick, is it in the best interests of your team taking a guy who is clearly in decline, already having trouble with the same knee and talking surgery? Not sure why you feel it's on a less serious level too. If anything, I feel it's worse. Dirk is disgruntled about it after just a few days of training camp and DAL doesn't have championship aspirations this season. Not saying that at some point Dirk could return first round value again. However, no one can say with a certainty when that would be.
I guess I just feel that he's been taking a lot better care of himself than he did last year, and after just a little bit of treatment last season, taking essentially a week off, he was able to return to averaging over 25 and 6 a game post All-Star break, which is par for the course with the guy. He hasn't really had an extensive history with the knee before last season.
Looking past the injury, the guy was a beast again last season. If anything, for this one season, his stock should actually go up. This team is going to have no identity, tons of new players, people who aren't really sure how to play together. And until the team gets more comfortable, Dirk has got to be the identity of the team. I think he could see a spike in his points average, he might see more trips to the line. His 3's might dip a little, because I don't think he will be able to kinda sneak away from the defense the way he could. Obviously in a keeper, he's a 2nd rounder. But for a one year league? I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be 1st round talent. His situation should bring forth more production, and I just don't see him being hampered by the knee enough to cause him to drop out of the first 12 picked.
Arthroscopic surgery is very much a possibility at this point, and the fact he'll be out at least a few weeks and could still have swelling/discomfort throughout the season is reason enough to discount him significantly.
Harktheclark wrote:I guess I just feel that he's been taking a lot better care of himself than he did last year
If this is the case, then why all the concern regarding his knee before Game 1? W/o a doubt I agree he's likely prepared himself for the upcoming season better than what he did last season. He even admitted he wasn't ready to go last year. However, if he did his due diligence this season, it simply has to be disconcerting that knee is already giving him this much grief.
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Could be a solid buy low if the procedure isn't too invasive. 
I hope the scope is enough, cause right now my first three picks 
Dirk,Curry, Wall
