Thomas gets knee update

Mavericks forward Tim Thomas found out Wednesday he has a cartilage injury of undetermined severity in his right knee that will require arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. The 6-10 Thomas was examined by team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal, who also is likely to perform the procedure to clean up the debris in the knee. A timetable for Thomas' return won't be known until after the surgery, but Mavericks officials were optimistic that it would not be a long-term recovery period. Training camp opens Sept. 28, with the season starting in late October, giving Thomas six weeks to recuperate before he would miss any meaningful time. Thomas suffered the injury recently while working out at his home in southern California. He remains very much in the Mavericks' rotation plans for the season. Thomas was signed as a free agent in July for his ability to stretch the court with his 3-point shooting. Thomas is a 12-year veteran who has averaged 11.6 points for his career. With three teams in 2008-09, he averaged 8.5 points. The Mavericks have 16 guaranteed contracts on the roster, but will have to trim at least one to get to the maximum allowed during the regular season. The team continues to explore its options, including trades that would ship two or three players out with only one or two coming back. --Eddie Sefko