Mavs’ Nowitzki Begins Off-Season Training; Gasol Undergoes Surgery To Address Tendonosis In Both Knees

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has already started his off-season training, hoping to start next season in proper shape after being derailed with injuries the last two seasons.

Nowitzki, who will turn 35 this coming June, is undergoing an off-season maintenance program in an effort to stay in top form for next season.

The 7-foot German shooter has just come back from a Caribbean vacation but promised to devote the succeeding months for conditioning as he enters the twilight years of his basketball career.

After winning his first NBA championship in 2010, Nowitzki has never been near his old self due to several injuries over the last two seasons. The All-Star forward underwent a knee surgery in October and missed the first 27 games of the 2012-2013 campaign.

The German struggled to cope up with his new teammates right away after the Mavs lost several pieces from their championship team - including Jason Kidd and Jason Terry - to free-agency last offseason. As a result, the Mavericks missed the postseason for the first time in 12 years and only the third time since the arrival of Nowitzki in Dallas.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol underwent a procedure on Thursday to eliminate scar tissue in both of his knees.

Gasol has been bothered with tendonosis almost the entire 2012-2013 season, and he hopes the FAST (Focused Aspiration of Scar Tissue) technique will rejuvenate not only his aging knees but his career.

"It's more than tendinitis, it's tendonosis," Gasol told ESPN on Thursday. "There's a degeneration of the tissue, and it's something that I've dealt with all year. So I'll have to do something to regenerate the tissue so I don't have to play with this pain."

The All-Star power forward enters the final year on his current contract with the Lakers worth $19.3 million, though there are rumors that the Spanish bigman could be shipped to another team in the coming weeks.