While Dirk Nowitzki delivered some disappointing news today, saying he doesn’t expect to be in uniform until mid-December, he will not allow his competitive drive to get the best of him.

In other words, he’ll resist any urge to take a shortcut in his rehab in order to return even the slightest bit before he’s fully recovered from right knee surgery.

The reasoning, he said, is that he has a bigger picture in mind. It’s not only this season or next – the last two on his current contract. He said he is looking at hopefully having more productive years beyond that.

“I’m hoping maybe after these two years (of his current contract) to play a couple more years. So it would be the wrong thing now to push it and come back too early and maybe make something worse for the long term.”

That game plan would take Nowitzki’s career through 2016.

via Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News