"Dirk Nowitzki has had a busy 12 months and because of that he's going to give the NBA every chance to settle its labor dispute with players before committing to play in another league.

Holger Geschwindner, longtime personal coach and close friend to the Mavericks' perennial all-star and NBA Finals MVP, said Tuesday that Nowitzki plans on waiting until January before striking any deal with a German or other European club.

January is widely considered the drop-dead month for the NBA having to reach a new collective-bargaining agreement and still being able to conduct a shortened season -- presumably 50 games like the one played in 1999, the last and only time the league has lost regular-season games because of a labor dispute.

"Dirk will wait until January," Geschwindner said. "If the complete season will be canceled, he has to join a team to stay in shape.""