DETROIT -- Surgery rarely is good news. But in this case, we'll take it.

Dirk Nowitzki had a relatively minor procedure to alleviate a left ankle impingement. Missing the final four games of this season to have the work done is a small price to pay if it means another season of helping the Mavericks' rebuild.

Easy for us to say, right? It's not our ankle.

Nowitzki hasn't come out and said that a return for the 2018-19 season is a done deal, although he's led everybody in that direction all season. Coach Rick Carlisle said that while it looks good, nobody should take anything for granted.

"In life, you never know about anything," Carlisle said recently. "It's been a great 20 years. I'm praying for a 21st year, but no one knows for sure."

Nowitzki could have done without the surgery and gone on his merry way if he was planning on hanging up the Nikes after this season.

Clearly, that's not his plan.

So let's rejoice that the Mavericks and Nowitzki saw this as the right course of action. And by the way, the decision to have this done was made about a week before Thursday morning, when Eugene Curry and Daniel Worrel performed the surgery.

The fact that Nowitzki played 77 of the first 78 games this season before shutting it down to get the ankle taken care of is proof that he still has productivity left in those old, creaky legs.

He averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 24.4 minutes per game. Credit Carlisle for keeping those minutes reasonable yet still playing Nowitzki enough to keep him warm and lower the risk of injury.

If you factor Nowitzki's production per 36 minutes played, he'd average 17.6 points and 8.3 rebounds, numbers most players would do anything to achieve. And he shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range, the fourth-best accuracy of his 20 seasons.

Maybe we all were closer to the truth than we thought with all those jokes that they could roll Dirk out there when he's 50 and he could still knock down 3-pointers.

At the least, this ensures that the bridge to the future will be a little further along when Nowitzki does finally leave.

No matter what role he takes on next season -- and it's hard to see it changing much from what he did this season -- he'll be a guiding force for the team in terms of teaching the younger players about winning and being professional.

Some will get it. Some won't.

But what we shouldn't necessarily expect is for Nowitzki to be a sixth man.

While that idea has been tossed around for several seasons, sometimes you have to trust the man in charge about what's best for not only the team but for the individual players. Nowitzki likes going straight from the layup line to center court for the jump ball.

What we all have to hope is that the Mavericks' brass figures out a way to get this team competitive again. While playing hard has not been an issue, more weapons are needed if next season is to build hope for the future. Hitting on the draft pick again. Snatching a meaningful free agent along the lines of Harrison Barnes or Wesley Matthews. The return of a healthy Seth Curry.

Nowitzki deserves that much. And a chance to walk away on his terms -- preferably on a franchise-wide uptick.

Briefly: The Mavericks expect to have some of their players back after virtually all the heavy lifters sat out Wednesday at Orlando. Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr. and Dwight Powell all could play against the Pistons on Friday night. ... The Mavericks will be getting their first look at Little Caesars Arena, the Pistons new home, which replaced the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Twitter: @ESefko