Dereck Lively II is back at Mavericks camp, but not back in the way anyone wants to see just yet.
The Dallas center is still working his way back from foot surgery he had in December 2025, and this week he has not been a full participant in training camp. He’s been spotted doing light work off to the side with an assistant coach, but he is not yet cleared for normal basketball activity.
There’s no timetable for when Lively will return to full-speed action, and that uncertainty is exactly why Dallas is refusing to rush it. For a 7-foot-1 big man dealing with foot issues, the patient route is the only sensible one.
That message came through clearly from Masai Ujiri during Media Day last week. He didn’t offer much in the way of specifics, but he made the organization’s stance unmistakable.
"We are going to be patient about this injury," Ujiri said. "I said it from day one that that’s the approach we’re going to take is being patient with D-Live because none of us here know what it’s like one to have an injury like that, two to be 7-foot-1,2 and carry all of that on that foot.
It takes patience... There will be patience till we get this right."
For the Mavericks, that patience isn’t just about this week or this month. It’s about protecting a young center whose availability has already been chopped up by injuries. Lively has played only 43 games over the last two seasons, and he has appeared in just 98 games, or 39.8 percent of possible games, through his first three seasons in the league.
Lower-body injuries have been the constant problem, and his right foot has caused the most trouble. Since the end of the 2024-25 season, he has undergone multiple surgeries on it.
The issues trace back to when Dallas’ former medical staff misdiagnosed a stress fracture as an ankle sprain. Lively was even put through a return-to-play workout as he neared a comeback, before an additional look revealed the stress fracture.
The foot has bothered him ever since.
That history is exactly why the Mavericks are moving carefully now. Fans want to see his energy, his rim protection and his dunking back on the floor at American Airlines Center, but Dallas is choosing the long view.
The team has time to do this right, and it knows it. The Mavericks don’t look like NBA Finals contenders at the moment, so there’s no reason to force Lively back before he’s truly ready. Giving the 22-year-old center every bit of time he needs is the safest path for his long-term health.
If that approach works, the payoff could be significant. Lively would be able to focus on his game instead of constantly bouncing between basketball and rehab, and the Mavericks would finally get a clearer picture of what he can be when the foot issues are behind him.
That matters even more with the 2026-27 season looming as a pivotal one. Lively will enter restricted free agency next summer if the two sides don’t agree to an extension, so getting him healthy now helps Dallas better evaluate where he fits in the team’s future.
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Mavs Camp Just Put One Key Injury Question Front And Center
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