With Kevin McHale's long tenure in Minnesota now over, he is working under Rick Carlisle as a mentor to the Dalas big men.

"For the first day of practice, I was very impressed," McHale said.

McHale gave a speech at the Monday night team dinner. "He talked about the old days and what their mind-set was," Dirk Nowitzki said of the Hall of Famer who won three titles with the Celtics. "I'm going to try to pick his brain while he's here. To me, he's probably the greatest low-post player the league has ever seen. He had every move in the book."

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is expected to opt into the final year of his contract for the 2010-11 season, according to sources.

Nowitzki has the option to opt out and become a free agent next summer, but even Dallas owner Mark Cuban expects the former MVP to forgo the option.

"I foresee not talking about [Nowitzki's contract situation] with the media at all during the year and we have all next summer to discuss," Cuban told ESPN.

The Mavericks are hoping to sign Nowitzki to an extension before he is ever able to officially hit the open market.

Nowitzki, however, insists that he hasn't given his contract situation much thought.

"I still haven't really thought about it that much," Nowitzki said. "I always said I wanted to finish my career in Dallas and nothing that happened the last two years has changed that. As far as I'm concerned, I'm thinking about playing this contract to the end and we'll go from there. We all know, in this business, things can change in a heartbeat. But as of now, I don't plan on opting out. I plan on finishing my career in Dallas."

The Mavericks have signed center Jake Voskuhl to a non-guaranteed contract.

Dallas already has 16 players under contract even after the recent release of swingman Greg Buckner, so Voshkuhl's chances of making the team appear slim.

"The Mavs really like him," Voskuhl's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN.com on Sunday.

The former Connecticut star is entering his 10th NBA season.

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is ready to get the season underway after an offseason filled with turmoil.

Nowitzki returned to the United States on Friday after spending four months overseas. He feels refreshed and excited about training camp for the first time in a very long time.

He insists that he's "doing fine" in the wake of some serious personal issues.

Nowitzki's ex-fiancee was arrested at his Dallas home in May and then made unfounded claims that she was pregnant with his child.

"But I think everybody who's seen me recently knows I'm doing fine and knows that I had a pretty decent summer," Nowitzki told ESPN.com. "I did some fun things, did a little traveling. It was not as bad as I thought. And I'm actually excited about camp, which the last 10-11 years I haven't been because I always played [for Germany] in the summer.

"When it all first happened during the playoffs, I thought I would really be thinking about it all the time, all day, every day. But I came home [in late May] and took a great vacation [to Crete, Greece] with my family. In tough times, I think my family has always been there for me and they were again this year. They took my mind off all this stuff. I got to enjoy [sister Silke's two] kids and I was already doing a lot better after that. It just got better and better and got to the point where I didn't even think about [the situation] for long periods of time."

Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion are thrilled to be together once again, eight years since they shared the court in Phoenix.

The Mavericks are hoping that the reunion will allow the players to rekindle the success they had with the Suns.

"Shawn makes the game so easy, especially above the rim, he gets easy baskets," Kidd told the Arizona Republic. "He can get out there and defend (point guards) through (centers). He's a great teammate in the locker room, so I'm glad to have him by my side."

In addition to re-signing Kidd and acquiring Marion, the Mavericks made other moves that will make chemistry the key to early-season success.

"Everybody's got to get the chemistry right," Marion said. "That's the most important thing, getting a feel for each other and learning to have fun playing with each other."

The Dallas Mavericks announced that forward Tim Thomas underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his right knee.  

Mavericks' team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal performed the surgery at Texas Sports Medicine.  

A timetable for his return has not been set.

Mavericks forward Tim Thomas will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday.

"It's minor," Thomas told the Dallas Morning News. "I'm going to take my time and get back. And once I get back, I look forward to joining the guys and going after the ultimate goal, which is a championship."

Thomas told the paper that he injured his knee while working out, joking that he "can't ice skate."

Greg Ostertag is looking to make a return to the NBA.

The former Jazz and Kings center told the Dallas Morning News that playing for the Mavericks has always been a dream of his.

"Everyone knows how bad I've wanted to play in Dallas," Ostertag told the Morning News. "I grew up there. They were my favorite team growing up. I'd play there in a second. ... That would be the ultimate way to end my career."

Mavericks president Donnie Nelson added that Ostertag is on the team's radar, but they are already over the league's roster limit.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did a live chat with fans for the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.

Cuban touched on a wide range of topics, from re-signing Jason Kidd, the team's depth behind their starters, the ability to deal some of their extra players and the acquisition of Shawn Marion.

One fan pointed out that Marion's production appears to have decreased in recent years.

"We don't think Shawn's production has declined at all. He went from a run-and-gun team with a push-it-up point guard, to walk-it-up teams that played in the half court," Cuban responded. "Even with that the case, and plays still not being run for him, he still managed to have a big impact on the game on both sides of the ball.

"Just as importantly, Shawn hears and reads everything saying he struggled. He wants to prove everyone wrong, which i think is a beautiful thing."

Mavericks forward Tim Thomas injured his knee while playing in a pick-up game recently.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the team is aware of the injury, but team doctors haven't looked at Thomas yet.

The injury is believed to be at least a sprain and could involve some cartilage damage.