The Mavericks are heading into training camp with plenty of change around them, but one of the biggest questions still sits in the frontcourt: what kind of season can Dereck Lively II actually give them?
Dallas has turned over a lot since last year ended, with a new head coach, a new front office, and nine additions to the roster. Even with all that movement, the team made a bet by bringing back two injury-prone frontcourt pieces in P.J. Washington and Lively.
Lively’s availability is the obvious issue. He appeared in just seven games last season before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery, and it’s doubtful he’ll be fully ready to go this weekend. That leaves his upside easy to see, but his ability to stay on the floor still unproven.
Earlier this month, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz picked one breakout candidate for every NBA team and landed on Lively for Dallas. The appeal is clear enough: when he’s right, he can change games at the rim on both ends. But Swartz pointed straight to the same hurdle everyone else sees - health.
"It feels like we've known about Dereck Lively II for a long time, as the 22-year-old center was a key piece of the Dallas Mavericks' run to the 2024 NBA Finals. Now entering his fourth year, injuries have prevented Lively from truly breaking out," Swartz wrote. "Foot surgery limited him to just seven games last season, where he averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 16.4 minutes."
"If he can make a full recovery before the start of the season (there's been no official report yet), Lively has elite rim protection potential at 7'1" and should become a favorite lob target of Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving," Swartz added.
That kind of impact is exactly why Dallas still has reason to believe in him. Lively is only 22, and the Mavericks need him to move forward after a season wiped out by injury.
General manager Mike Schmitz praised that mindset during an August appearance on 105.3 The Fan, saying Lively has attacked his rehab with real purpose.
︀︀“D-Live has been working his tail off. He’s in the facility constantly," Schmitz said.
"Completely locked into everything we’re doing and doing everything in his power to be his best self. Really, really proud of just the approach he's taken and his mentality, his voice - he's young, but he's got a presence to him."
"Just having him in our facility every day and working his tail off to get to 100% is something that we feel every day, and he's doing everything in his power," Schmitz continued. "We're just really proud of the progress he's made and just continuing to chip away at everything as we start to get closer to the start of camp."
Across three professional seasons, Lively has averaged 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game. The talent is there. The question, as always, is whether he can stay available long enough to show it.
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